Iras-allsky

A 22° Tidal Tail for Palomar 5

April 2006 • 2006ApJ...641L..37G

Authors • Grillmair, C. J. • Dionatos, O.

Abstract • Using Data Release 4 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have applied an optimal-contrast, matched-filter technique to trace the trailing tidal tail of the globular cluster Palomar 5 to a distance of 18.5d from the center of the cluster. This more than doubles the total known length of the tail to some 22° on the sky. Based on a simple model of the Galaxy, we find that the stream's orientation on the sky is consistent at the 1.7 σ level with existing proper-motion measurements. We find that a spherical Galactic halo is adequate to model the stream over its currently known length, and we are able to place new constraints on the current space motion of the cluster.

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IPAC Authors
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Grillmaira

Carl Grillmair

Associate Scientist