Tidal tail
A tidal tail is a thin, elongated region of
Some interacting galaxy pairs have two distinct tails, as is the case for the Antennae Galaxies, while other systems have only one tail. Most tidal tails are slightly curved due to the rotation of the host galaxies. Those that are straight may actually be curved but still appear to be straight if they are being viewed edge-on.
History
The phenomena now referred to as tidal tails were first studied extensively by Fritz Zwicky in 1953.[4] Several astrophysicists expressed their doubts that these extensions could occur solely as the result of tidal forces,[5][6] including Zwicky himself, who described his own views as "unorthodox".[7] Boris Vorontsov-Velyaminov argued that the tails were too thin and too long (sometimes as large as 100,000 parsecs) to have been produced by gravity alone,[8] as gravity should instead produce broad distortions. However, in 1972, renowned astronomer Alar Toomre proved that it was indeed tidal forces that were responsible for the tails.[9]
Gallery
![Arc-shaped tidal tails in galaxy 3C186.[10]](/File:Galaxy_with_an_ejected_supermassive_black_hole.jpg)
Notes
- doi:10.1086/173373.
- doi:10.1086/498414.
- ^ Naeye, Robert (18 December 2007). "'Shot in the Dark' Star Explosion Stuns Astronomers". NASA Goddard Flight Center. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
- .
- Bibcode:1968SvA....11..785Z.
- ^ Gold, T. & Hoyle, F. (1959). "Cosmic rays and radio waves as manifestations of a hot universe". Paris Symposium on Radio Astronomy. Stanford University Press. pp. 583–588.
- Bibcode:1963ASPL....9...17Z.
- Bibcode:1962IAUS...15..194V.
- doi:10.1086/151823.
- ^ "Hubble detects supermassive black hole kicked out of galactic core - Astronomers suspect gravitational waves". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 27 March 2017.