Milky Way dark matter halo
E481640
The Milky Way dark matter halo is the vast, roughly spherical, invisible mass of dark matter surrounding our galaxy that dominates its gravitational potential and governs the motions of its stars, gas, and satellite galaxies.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Milky Way mass distribution | 1 |
| Milky Way tidal field | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
astrophysical structure
ⓘ
dark matter halo ⓘ |
| affects |
formation of stellar streams
ⓘ
orbital decay of satellite galaxies ⓘ stability of Milky Way disk ⓘ |
| contains |
Local Group satellite galaxies
ⓘ
dark matter subhalos ⓘ dwarf spheroidal galaxies ⓘ |
| contributesTo | flat rotation curve of Milky Way ⓘ |
| detectedBy | gravitational effects ⓘ |
| doesNotInteractVia |
electromagnetic force
ⓘ
strong nuclear force ⓘ |
| dominates | Milky Way gravitational potential NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| enclosesMassWithin | ~200 kiloparsecs ⓘ |
| extendsBeyond |
Milky Way stellar disk
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Milky Way visible matter distribution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| formedFrom | cold dark matter (in standard cosmology) ⓘ |
| formedThrough | hierarchical structure formation ⓘ |
| governs |
motions of Milky Way gas
ⓘ
motions of Milky Way satellite galaxies ⓘ motions of Milky Way stars ⓘ |
| hasCentralRegion | inner halo ⓘ |
| hasComponent | dark matter ⓘ |
| hasDensityProfile | decreasing with radius ⓘ |
| hasMass | on the order of 10^12 solar masses ⓘ |
| hasOuterRegion | outer halo ⓘ |
| hasShape | roughly spherical ⓘ |
| hasVirialMass | approximately 0.5–2 × 10^12 solar masses ⓘ |
| hasVirialRadius | approximately 200–300 kiloparsecs ⓘ |
| inferredFrom |
dynamics of globular clusters
ⓘ
galactic rotation curve ⓘ motions of satellite galaxies ⓘ stellar halo kinematics ⓘ tidal streams ⓘ |
| interactsVia | gravity ⓘ |
| isDominantMassComponentOf | Milky Way NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| isInvisibleIn | electromagnetic spectrum ⓘ |
| isMemberOf | Local Group dark matter halo population ⓘ |
| isStudiedIn |
cosmology
ⓘ
dark matter indirect detection ⓘ galactic dynamics ⓘ |
| mayBe |
oblate
ⓘ
prolate ⓘ slightly triaxial ⓘ |
| oftenModeledWith |
Einasto profile
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Navarro–Frenk–White profile NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOf | Milky Way NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| providesEnvironmentFor | baryonic galaxy formation ⓘ |
| weaklyInteractsVia | weak nuclear force (hypothetical) ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Milky Way tidal field
this entity surface form:
Milky Way mass distribution