Milky Way Dark Matter Halo
The visible disk of the Milky Way Galaxy is embedded in a much larger, roughly spherical halo of dark matter. The dark matter density drops off with distance from the galactic center. It is now believed that about 95% of the Galaxy is composed of dark matter, a type of matter that does not seem to interact with the rest of the Galaxy's matter and energy in any way except through gravity. The luminous matter makes up approximately 9 x 1010 solar masses. The dark matter halo is likely to include around 6 x 1011 to 3 x 1012 solar masses of dark matter.
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Famous quotes containing the words milky way, milky, dark, matter and/or halo:
“The Milky Way perhaps
Was woman’s way of life.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Full of her long white arms and milky skin
He had a thousand times remembered sin.”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)
“Better to die, or not to have been born,
than hear that plaining, piteous convict wail
about these beautiful dark eyebrowed women.
It’s soldiers who sing these days. O Lord God.”
—Marina Tsvetaeva (1892–1941)
“What matter though numb nightmare ride on top
And blood and mire the sensitive body stain?
What matter? Heave no sigh, let no tear drop,
A greater, a more gracious time has gone....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“There is a touch of divinity even in brutes, and a special halo about a horse, that should forever exempt him from indignities.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)