Some Stars In Our Galaxy Came From Andromeda

Our neighbouring galaxy is flinging stars into intergalactic space and some must have come our way, say astronomers.

The Physics arXiv Blog iconThe Physics arXiv Blog
By The Physics arXiv Blog
Jun 23, 2023 2:55 PMJun 23, 2023 2:53 PM
Andromeda Galaxy M31
(Credit:Robert Eder Astronomy/Shutterstock)

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All the stars in our galaxy are moving relative to one another, usually at speeds no more than about 100 kilometers per second. Some stars move much faster, and a few have huge velocities, of the order of 1000 kilometers per second.

These hypervelocity stars have an interesting history. Astronomers believe these stars probably started life as one half of a binary system with one star then being captured by the powerful gravitational field of the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy with the other being flung away like a sling shot.

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