How are globular clusters distributed in our Milky Way galaxy?

Globular clusters are typically located in the outer regions (the halos) of galaxies, and our Milky Way galaxy has about two hundred of them. Astronomers are interested in globular clusters in part because they are home to many of the oldest known stars, but also because of their locations in the halos.

How are globular clusters distributed in the galaxy?

A large majority of the Milky Way’s globular clusters are found in the celestial sky around the galactic core. In 1918, Shapley used this strongly asymmetrical distribution to determine the overall dimensions of the galaxy.

How are globular clusters distributed in our Milky Way?

How are globular clusters distributed in our Milky Way Galaxy? Mostly in a large spherical halo surrounding the flat disk of the Galaxy.

Are globular clusters evenly distributed?

It shows that globular clusters are spherically distributed around the Galaxy’s center.

How is the distribution of the mass in the Milky Way galaxy determined?

The mass distribution in the Galaxy is determined by dynamical and photometric methods. Rotation curves are the major tool for determining the dynamical mass distribution in the Milky Way and spiral galaxies.

How is the Milky Way galaxy different from a globular cluster?

Globular clusters also rotate, but not as much as a galaxy such as the Milky Way. That’s because the original gas cloud of which the clusters were created was also not rotating rapidly, Richer said. However, a slight rotation is apparent in the clusters because they are a little flattened, showing the motion.

How many globular clusters are in the Milky Way?

150

The Milky Way is host to around 150 known globular clusters, and a few more are likely to exist hidden behind the thick disk of our galaxy.

Is a globular cluster a galaxy?

Globular clusters aren’t considered galaxies because they are gravitationally bound to and orbiting galaxies like the Milky Way, and they have relatively small masses. When comparing the two, a typical globular cluster might contain a mass of 100,000 Suns, whereas the Milky Way has nearly 1 trillion solar masses.

Where are globular clusters located in the Milky Way quizlet?

Open clusters are only found in the disk of the Milky Way; globular clusters are only found in the halo of the Milky Way.

Why are globular clusters useful for measuring the size of our Milky Way galaxy select all that apply?

Select all the reasons why globular clusters are useful when measuring the distance to the center of the Galaxy. They can have up to a million stars, thus are very easy to see even far away. Most are not in the Galactic plane, so they are seen without being obscured by stars or gas clouds.

How do globular clusters differ from open clusters?

Globular clusters are filled with old stars – some are even old cores of galaxies that were cannibalized by our Milky Way, whereas Open clusters are filled with young stars that were born in a nebula and have drifted apart, and. Where they are typically found.

How do you observe globular clusters?

Summer nights are the best time to start hunting for globular clusters, almost one third of them are to be found in the summer constellation of Sagittarius. When observing try to use high magnifications, for most clusters this gives the best views, making stars visible even close to the center.

How are the open clusters distributed?

Numbers and distribution

In spiral galaxies, open clusters are largely found in the spiral arms where gas densities are highest and so most star formation occurs, and clusters usually disperse before they have had time to travel beyond their spiral arm.

How are globular and open clusters similar?

Open clusters are much younger and smaller than globular clusters. They are the recent birthplaces of new stars, which form out of clouds of dust and gas, and contain only hundreds or thousands of stars.

Where are open clusters found in the Milky Way?

Within the Milky Way, open clusters are found in and between the spiral arms. All star clusters are of great interest to astronomers, because the stars in them all formed at approximately the same time and location.

How do astronomers explain the formation of open star clusters?

Open star clusters are young, loosely bound gatherings of stars. The stars in these clusters were born together. They’re still sometimes moving within the nebula, or cosmic cloud, of their creation.

How are globular and open clusters similar quizlet?

open clusters contain up to several thousand stars and are found in the disk of the galaxy. Globular clusters contain thousands of stars, all closely packed together. They are found mainly in the halo of the galaxy.

How are galaxies organized and distributed within the universe quizlet?

How are galaxies organized and distributed within the universe? Galaxies are typically organized into clusters and distributed (not scattered randomly) across the universe. In clusters, galaxies are held together by the force of gravity. If a cluster contains numerous galaxies, then it is a supercluster.

Why globular clusters are generally used to study the initial chemical composition of galaxies?

When considered as a system, the globular clusters surrounding a galaxy provide a fossil record of the dynamical and chemical conditions when the galaxy was in the process of formation. Thus observations of globular cluster systems can be used to constrain models of the formation and evolution of galaxies.

Is the great globular cluster in the Milky Way?

It’s a globular star cluster, a huge globe-shaped stellar city teeming with hundreds of thousands of stars. Globular clusters orbit the Milky Way galaxy outside the galactic disk at tens of thousands of light-years away.

How old are the globular clusters near the Milky Way?

Globular clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy prove to be nearly as old as the universe, averaging perhaps 14 billion years in age and ranging between approximately 12 billion and 16 billion years, although these figures continue to be revised.

Why are globular clusters uniquely useful in determining the size of the galaxy quizlet?

Why are globular clusters uniquely useful in determining the size of the galaxy? They are evenly distributed around the center.

Which location best represents the location of the sun in the Milky Way galaxy?

Bottom line: The sun is about half the distance from the center of the Milky Way galaxy to its outer edges. It’s located in a smaller spiral arm – the Orion Arm – between two large arms.

What is the main observational difficulty in observing the shape of the Milky Way?

Why is it difficult to determine the size and shape of the Milky Way? because the Earth is embedded within the disk of the Milky Way.

How did dust affect Shapley’s RR Lyrae measurements?

The apparent brightnesses were fainter than they would be if there were no dust. How did dust affect Shapley’s RR Lyrae measurements? A. The periods were longer than they would be if there were no dust.

How did astronomers determine the distance to the Milky Way’s globular clusters and what did this measurement prove?

Determining Distance

Using the 60-inch telescope at Mount Wilson, he took photographs and observed globular clusters, which were compact spheres composed of many thousands of stars. Shapley used Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s method for Cepheid variable stars to determine distances to globular clusters.

Why are globular clusters found in the halo?

The halo is home to some ancient star clusters, known as globular clusters. They are known to be old because their stars contain low levels of heavy elements, which weren’t present in the young universe and were built up over time in supernovae. The clusters move about the galactic nucleus in (nearly) random orbits.