AstroKids › Everything in the sky › The Stellar Halo
part of the galaxy · surrounds the whole galaxy

The Stellar Halo

Vast sparse spherical cloud of old stars and globular clusters surrounding the Milky Way's disk.

🚀 Travel there

What it is

Part of the galaxy: Parts of a galaxy rather than objects in it: arms, bars, the bulge. Every kind of thing there is →

Can you see it?

Not as one thing, no — the Stellar Halo is a place rather than a sight, and you are already inside it. What you go out and look at are the things in it, one at a time.

Worth knowing about the Stellar Halo

What it is made of
A vast, sparse, roughly spherical cloud of old stars and globular clusters surrounding the flat disk of the galaxy.
How we know: Halo stars are identified by odd orbits and spectroscopy showing far fewer heavy elements than disk stars. Rung 5 of the cosmic ladder — the distance to the stars
What makes it worth knowing
Arcturus is a halo star currently passing through our neighborhood.

Next to it

The Orion Armpart of the galaxyNot observableThe Galactic Bar and Bulgepart of the galaxyNaked eyeThe Dark Matter Halopart of the galaxyNot observableThe Milky Wayspiral galaxyNaked eyeProxima CentauristarWith effortAlpha Centauri A & Bbinary star systemNaked eye
📖 How the Milky Way fits together

Then go outside

Too big to look at all at once — but the things inside it are not. The Planetarium will show you which are up.

🌙 Plan an evening outside🌌 Everything else in the sky