This image shows the orbital tracks of 75 globular cLusters (blue, covering 10 million years) and 9 dwarf galaxies (red, covering 100 million years). Proper motions for these systems as detemined with the Gaia data are about 10 to 100 times more accurate than earlier determinations, allowing for much better orbital reconstructions and recognition of families of objects with shared formation history. Image created by Maarten Breddels.
Download large version of the image. (1.4 MB, PNG)
Credits: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, Amina Helmi, Maarten Breddels and co-authors of the paper "The kinematics of globular clusters and dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way".
Page last updated: 30 May 2018