Perseus Arm: Difference between revisions
m moved Perseus Arm to Perseus Spiral Arm: All the scientific literature I've come across appears to use this name instead. |
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(No difference)
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Revision as of 23:49, 17 October 2006
The Perseus Arm is a major spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy with four major arms and and least two minor arms or spurs. The Perseus Arm, with a radius of approximately 10,700 parsecs, is located between the Cygnus Arm and the Sagittarius Arm. It is named after its proximity to the constellation Perseus.
There is speculation that the minor Orion Arm, which includes the solar system and Earth, is a branch of the Perseus Arm, but this is unconfirmed.
The Perseus arm contains a number of Messier objects:
- The Crab Nebula (M1)
- Open Cluster M36
- Open Cluster M37
- Open Cluster M38
- Open Cluster M52
- Open Cluster M103.
Other resources
See also
External links
- Galactic Structure, Galactic Rotation Curve and Measurements on the M31 galaxy
- http://skyandtelescope.com/mm_images/6829.jpg
- Perseus Arm closer than previously thought
- Messier Objects in the Milky Way Galaxy (SEDS)
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