This is a list of stellar streams. A stellar stream is an association of stars orbiting a galaxy taking the appearance of an elongated stream of stars. Stars that are part of stellar streams were often once part of a globular cluster or dwarf galaxy. However, their original system has now been torn apart and stretched out along its orbit by the tidal forces of the larger galaxy. An exception in the list about Milky Way streams given below is the Magellanic Stream, composed of gas (mostly hydrogen), although in 2023, a population of stars has been described inside it.

Local Group streams

Milky Way streams

Andromeda Galaxy streams

Streams beyond the Local Group

Due to new deeper sky surveys, such as the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey, a large number of streams are to be expected to be discovered in the future. An initial search in 2023 by Martínez-Delgado et al. searched 389 galaxies and found 89 candidates with stellar streams (22,9%). They plan to search about 3100 galaxies, which might yield hundreds of candidates. In the pasts less sensitive surveys such as SDSS were only able to detect the brightest stellar streams.

See also

• Lists of astronomical objects

• List of nearby stellar associations and moving groups

• Field of Streams

• Stellar kinematics

• Galaxy merger

• Local Bubble

• Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way

References

Further reading

External links