Author Question: What do the orbits of halo and disk stars tell us about the formation of the Milky Way? What will ... (Read 88 times)

tsand2 · **on:** Jul 27, 2018

What do the orbits of halo and disk stars tell us about the formation of the Milky Way?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Scientific models are used to

A) present the scale of the solar system to the general public.
B) make specific predictions that can be tested through observations or experiments.
C) make miniature representations of the universe.
D) prove that past paradigms no longer hold true.

scikid · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 27, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Older halo stars move in comet-like orbits, well above the plane of the Galaxy in a spherical distribution. The disk stars formed later, after most of the remaining gas and dust had settled down into a disk, flattened by the rotation of the condensing Galaxy. Their orbits are much more like those of planets, fairly circular and in the Galactic plane.

Answer to Question 2

B