What are the basic characteristics of stellar orbits in the bulge, disk, and halo of our galaxy?
1 Answer
Oct 14, 2017
The stellar orbits become progressively less organized as we go from disk, to bulge, to halo
Explanation:
The disk orbits are more or less circular and all lie nearly on a plane. The disk stars orbit in circles with the same orientation, except for little up- and- down motion.
The halo and bulge orbits are much less organized: they vary from round to very elliptical, and don't lie on a plane either. The stars travel in elliptical paths with random orientations. The halo stars travel high above and far below the disk.
