List of stellar streams
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This is a list of stellar streams. A stellar stream is an association of stars orbiting a galaxy. It was once a globular cluster or dwarf galaxy that has now been torn apart and stretched out along its orbit by tidal forces. An exception in the list about Milky Way streams given below is the Magellanic Stream, composed of gas (mostly hydrogen), although in 2023 a population of stars has been described inside it.
Local Group streams
Milky Way streams
| Name | Origin | Mass (solar masses) | Length (light-years) | Composition | Discovery year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcturus stream | Defunct dwarf galaxy | Unknown | Unknown | Old stars deficient in heavy elements | 1971 |
| Magellanic Stream | Large and Small Magellanic Clouds | 200 million | 1 million | Hydrogen gas | 1972 |
| Sagittarius Stream | Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy | 100 million | 1 million | Wide variety of stars | 1994 |
| Helmi stream | Defunct dwarf galaxy | 10—100 million | Several complete loops around the Milky Way | Old stars deficient in heavy elements | 1999 |
| Palomar 5 stream (Serpens Stream) | Globular cluster Palomar 5 | 5,000 | 30,000 | Old stars | 2001 |
| Virgo Stream | Defunct dwarf galaxy | 30,000 | 2001 | ||
| Monoceros Ring | Canis Major Overdensity | 100 million | 200,000 | Intermediate age stars | 2002 |
| Anticenter stream | Defunct dwarf galaxy | Unknown | 30,000 | Old stars | 2006 |
| GD-1 | Globular cluster | Metal-poor stars | 2006 | ||
| NGC 5466 stream 45 Degree tidal stream | Globular cluster NGC 5466 | 10,000 | 60,000 | Very old stars | 2006 |
| Orphan stream | Unknown source (hence its name) | Unknown | 20,000 | Old stars | 2006 |
| Acheron stream | Globular cluster | 2007 | |||
| Boötes III stream | Embedded in, and possible progenitor of the Styx stream | 2007 | |||
| Cocytus stream | Globular cluster | 2007 | |||
| Lethe stream | Globular cluster | 10,000 | 18,000 | Old, metal-poor stars | 2007 |
| Styx stream | Defunct dwarf galaxy (possibly Boötes III) | 2007 | |||
| Cetus Polar Stream | Defunct dwarf galaxy | Unknown | Unknown | Old stars | 2009 |
| Aquarius Stream | Defunct dwarf galaxy | Unknown | 30,000 | Old stars | 2010 |
| Lamost 1 | Disrupted globular cluster | 21,000 | Intermediate-age stars | 2015 | |
| Phoenix Stream | Disrupted globular cluster | Unknown | 8,000 | Very old stars | 2016 |
| S1 Stream | disrupted dwarf galaxy | 94 | 2017 | ||
| Fimbulthul stream | Globular cluster Omega Centauri | 318 | 2019 | ||
| Pisces-Eridanus stream | disrupted cluster or association | 2,000 | 1,300 | very young (~120 Myr) nearby (260 - 870 light-years) stream | 2019 |
| Nyx stream | remnant of a disrupted dwarf galaxy — long-ago galaxy merger | about 200 stars | 2020 | ||
| Specter stream | disrupted ultra-faint dwarf galaxy | 2,000 | 18,000 | 2022 |
Andromeda Galaxy streams
| Name | Origin | Mass (solar masses) | Length (light-years) | Composition | Discovery year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M31 Giant stellar stream[citation needed] | |||||
| Andromeda NE stellar stream | 2004 | ||||
| Tidal Stream Northwest (Tidal Stream E and F) | disrupted dwarf galaxies | 2009 | |||
| Tidal Stream Southwest | 2009 | ||||
| East Cloud[citation needed] | |||||
| North Spur[citation needed] | |||||
| Stream A[citation needed] | |||||
| Stream B[citation needed] | |||||
| Stream C[citation needed] | |||||
| Stream D[citation needed] |
Streams beyond the Local Group
Due to new deeper sky surveys, such as the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey, a large number of streams are to be expected to be discovered in the future. An initial search in 2023 by Martínez-Delgado et al. searched 389 galaxies and found 89 candidates with stellar streams (22,9%). They plan to search about 3100 galaxies, which might yield hundreds of candidates. In the pasts less sensitive surveys such as SDSS were only able to detect the brightest stellar streams.
| Name | Location | Origin | Mass (solar masses) | Length (light-years) | Composition | Characteristics | Discovery year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Blue Tidal Stream | NGC 5128 | A gas fragment or a dwarf galaxy | 2002 | ||||
| stream 947-4966 | NGC 4013 | former dwarf satellite with low inclination orbit | large looping structure | 2008 | |||
| 9477-J0949.4-STO 749988 (SMS J 4977449 tI947) | NGC 5907 | low-mass satellite accretion | multiple surrounding loops | 2009 | |||
| NGC 4651 | satellite accretion | narrow jet-like structure and surrounding debris shell | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 3521 | satellite accretion | jet-like structure and surrounding debris shell | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 7531 | satellite accretion | surrounding debris shell | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 1084 | satellite accretion | three giant disconnected plumes of similar width | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 4216 | satellite accretion | ongoing tidal disruption of satellite galaxies seen as long tails extending from the progenitor satellite | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 1055 | satellite accretion | clear box shaped inner halo sprinkled with a plethora of coherent spikes | 2010 | ||||
| NGC 5291 | galaxy interaction | two separate tidal tails to the north and south | ? | ||||
| petal of the sunflower | Messier 63 (NGC 5055) | dwarf satellite accretion | 4×108 | 1979/2011 | |||
| NGC 5387 | satellite accretion | 6×108 | 11.7 kpc | young stars | enhanced star formation, metal-poor | 2014 | |
| feather on the hat | Messier 104 (NGC 4594) | major merger | extremely metal rich | 2021 | |||
| NGC 4303 | leftovers of a dwarf galaxy that was torn apart by M61's gravity | 2×108 | 50 kpc | first stellar stream discovered with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory | 2025 |
See also
- Lists of astronomical objects
- List of nearby stellar associations and moving groups
- Field of Streams
- Stellar kinematics
- Galaxy merger
- Local Bubble
- Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way
Further reading
- McConnachie, Alan W.; Ibata, Rodrigo; Martin, Nicolas; et al. (20 November 2018). . The Astrophysical Journal. 868 (1): 55. arXiv:. Bibcode:. doi:.
- Mateu, Cecilia (2023). . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 520 (4): 5225–5258. arXiv:. doi:.