Facts about Galactic Disk Warp
- 05
Cepheid variable stars have been used as tracers to measure and confirm the three-dimensional structure of the Milky Way's galactic disk warp.
- 04
Mapping the galactic disk warp has been significantly advanced by surveys of hydrogen gas (HI 21-cm emission), which traces the neutral gas distribution across the outer disk.
- 03
Warping of galactic disks is a common phenomenon observed in a significant fraction of edge-on spiral galaxies beyond the Milky Way.
- 02
A leading explanation for the galactic disk warp in the Milky Way is the gravitational influence of satellite galaxies, including the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
- 01
The Milky Way's galactic disk warp causes the outer disk to curve upward on one side and downward on the other, relative to the galactic plane.