July 2010 - Swinburne University of Technology
July 2010 - Swinburne University of Technology
July 2010 - Swinburne University of Technology
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JULY <strong>2010</strong> swinburne<br />
,,<br />
Previously<br />
astronomers<br />
considered our<br />
galaxy might<br />
have absorbed<br />
stars from a<br />
couple <strong>of</strong> others.<br />
These latest data<br />
provide evidence<br />
that the Milky<br />
Way may be far<br />
hungrier than we<br />
imagined, and<br />
has swallowed<br />
pieces <strong>of</strong> as<br />
many as six or<br />
eight.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor<br />
Duncan Forbes<br />
ASTRONOMY<br />
19<br />
PHOTO: PAUL JONES<br />
in some cases possibly back again.<br />
The team’s galactic archaeology has<br />
yielded the largest high-quality database<br />
recording the age and chemical properties<br />
<strong>of</strong> each <strong>of</strong> the Milky Way star clusters,<br />
revealing ‘layer by layer’ the deep history <strong>of</strong><br />
our own star system and its neighbours.<br />
“Using this data from the Hubble Space<br />
Telescope we’ve been able to identify key<br />
signatures in many <strong>of</strong> the galactic clusters<br />
that differentiate them from the bulk <strong>of</strong><br />
the population and point to an external<br />
origin,” Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Forbes says. “This led<br />
us to conclude that tens <strong>of</strong> millions <strong>of</strong> the<br />
stars we can see each night in our own<br />
galaxy are outsiders, drawn in from other<br />
galactic bodies.<br />
“Previously astronomers considered<br />
our galaxy might have absorbed stars<br />
from a couple <strong>of</strong> others. These latest data<br />
provide evidence that the Milky Way may<br />
be far hungrier than we imagined, and<br />
has swallowed pieces <strong>of</strong> as many as six<br />
or eight.” ••<br />
* Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Forbes and Dr Bridges’ paper,<br />
‘Accreted versus in situ Milky Way globular<br />
clusters’, appears in a recent issue <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Monthly Notices <strong>of</strong> the Royal Astronomical<br />
Society. Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Forbes’ research was<br />
carried out in Canada as part <strong>of</strong> an Australian<br />
Research Council International Fellowship.<br />
CONTACT. .<br />
<strong>Swinburne</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Technology</strong><br />
1300 275 788<br />
magazine@swinburne.edu.au<br />
www.swinburne.edu.au/magazine