Andromeda galaxy larger than thought-astronomers

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 5/30/05 | Reuters

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Andromeda galaxy just got bigger -- three times bigger, astronomers said on Monday.

The galaxy is not actually expanding. But new measurements suggest that the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way is three times broader than astronomers had thought.

They now believe a thin sprinkling of stars once thought to be a halo is in fact part of Andromeda's main disk.

That makes the spiral galaxy, so close to Earth that it appeared as a fuzzy blob to the ancients, more than 220,000 light-years across -- triple the previous estimate of 70,000 to 80,000 light-years.

It appears that the outer fringes of the disk were made when smaller galaxies slammed together, they told a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Minneapolis.

The structure is too bumpy to have been formed otherwise, said Rodrigo Ibata of the Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg in France.

"This giant disk discovery will be very hard to reconcile with computer simulations of forming galaxies. You just don't get giant rotating disks from the accretion of small galaxy fragments," Ibata said in a statement.

Ibata, Scott Chapman of the California Institute of Technology and colleagues in Britain and Australia worked together using observations from the Keck II telescope in Hawaii.

They studied the motions of about 3,000 stars thought to be a mere halo and not an actual part of the galaxy's disk.

But they are in fact sited in the plane of the Andromeda disk itself and move at a velocity that suggests they are in orbit around the center of the galaxy, Ibata's team said.

Andromeda is 2 million light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year -- about 6 trillion miles.

[NormsRevenge]

The Andromeda galaxy just got bigger -- three times bigger, astronomers said on Monday. The galaxy is not actually expanding. But new measurements suggest that the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way is three times broader than astronomers had thought. This undated X-ray image shows the central portion of the Andromeda Galaxy. (Reuters)

[Thinkin' Gal]

But new measurements suggest that the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way is three times broader than astronomers had thought.

Andromeda needs to put away the Oreos. Obesity, it's an epidemic of galactic proportions.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Andromeda is a cool name. Nice picture.

[al baby]

This is hugh and series set beeber to stunned

[mc6809e]

It's too bad Andromeda isn't brighter. It would actually appear as wide or wider than the moon in the sky.

[Petronski]

Just who or what ARE these "thought-astronomers" and how large are they?

[billorites]

"Andromeda is 2 million light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year -- about 6 trillion miles."

For driving directions and hotel recommendations I like MapQuest.

[alienken]

Very interesting. It makes you wonder what other things our astronomers are wrong about.They say this planet has never been visited by space aliens.HMMmn. Makes you wonder doesn't it.

[stevem]

The Andromeda galaxy just got bigger -- three times bigger, astronomers said on Monday.

I think that is caused by galaxy warming.

Seriously, pictures and speculation about the Universe is hypnotically interesting.

[billorites]

" the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way is three times broader than astronomers had thought."

Reminds me of my wedding night.

[Texas Eagle]

The galaxy is not actually expanding.

Unlike Michael Moore.

[satchmodog9]

Someone should remeasure Hillary's ass.

[MilspecRob]

Oh, thats sad.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

When are you humans going to learn that size doesn't matter?

[feedback doctor]

Galactic Warming. Of course we are very close to discovering Universal Warming, and of course, it's Bush's fault.

[Talking_Mouse]

Cool. Does this make Andromeda the largest object in the Local Group?

What does the new size of Andromeda do to the collision of Andromeda and the Milky Way, in about 3 billion years? I saw nothing about that in the article. However, if Andromeda's size is from colliding with other galaxies will the collision add more to Andromeda or to the Milky Way? I admit I am fuzzy on the mechanics of the collision, having only vague memories of an Astronomy class and watching the Discovery Channel.

[Larry Lucido]

Darn, now I gotta order all new Andromedan road maps.

[snarks_when_bored]

What are 'thought-astronomers'?

[NormsRevenge]

That's the way the news wire posted the title,, lol. It made me pause for thought, too. :-\

[Larry Lucido]

"thought-astronomers"

They are like thought-police, but with broader jurisdiction.