STREAMS of “rebel” stars are moving in and out from the centre of our galaxy rather than in circular orbits.
Most stars in the Milky Way’s five main spiral arms take nearly circular paths around the galactic centre. The sun, midway down one arm, takes about 100 million years to complete one orbit.
Now a team led by Benoit Famaey of the Free University of Brussels (ULB), Belgium, has found a fifth of the stars within 1000 light years of the sun taking more elongated routes. The stars vary greatly in age, suggesting that they have different origins. The team…
