Can we see individual stars from other galaxies and also is there anything in between galaxies?

Question

Bit of a double question I know, but why not? When asking about what is in between galaxies I mean is there anything at all such as stars or astroids that have spun off from a spiral galaxy for example.

Answer 1

I do not think stars from other galaxies (other than our own or pehaps, but I doubt it, close by dwarf galaxies such as the Small and Large Magellanic clouds) are resolvable as "point sources", which stars are.

This is because of their vast distance from Earth, it is impossible to resolve individual stars further than about 1000 light years away (500 is probably too distant), because even the best telescopes (including Hubble) are not able to do this as this represents just .003 arc seconds of resolution. The nearest spiral galaxy is 2.5 million light years away (2,500 times further than the resolution limit.

Between the galaxies is not much in the way of visible matter, but Dark Cold Matter is abundant, and a few bits of lost luggage.

I therefore do not understand that answer which says that astronomer Hubble did so in the 1920's, that would be impossible with the equipment he was using at that time. Hubble was using the spectra of entire universes to establish red shifts. Any facts to back up your bold but erroneous statement young lady?

Answer 2

Your question pertains to gravity. The Sun's gravitational dominance extends halfway to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.



The moon is on the nodes when it's plane and the plane of the Earth intersect. This occurs every 18.6 years. Besides the rest of the planets on their orbital plane, the Milky Way too, has a plane. It is on a galactic scale. The Milky Way, an ellipsoid, is a squashed sphere rather than a rugby ball (5 to 1 ratio). It is 16 kiloparsecs in diameter. It is slightly reminiscent of the Andromeda Galaxy save it is irregular and of uneven density.



http://www.rc-astro.com/photo/id1034.htm...



On the second most outer spiral arm of the Milky Way, or, where our solar system lies, it is less dense than towards the center. Still, though the galactic case of Newton's laws is more highly complex than the solar, so apparently our Sun, on one of the spiral arms, is heading with determination towards a dark void in space between the constellations of Hercules and Lyra.



http://www.rc-astro.com/photo/id1166.htm...



http://www.flickr.com/photos/hshdude/219...



The constellation Sagittarius is roughly the nucleus of the Milky Way. Our solar system revolves around it in it's movement through the Milky Way.



http://www.allthesky.com/constellations/...



Our nearest neighbor is the triple binary, Alpha, Beta, and Proxima Centauri, which is also located in the Milky Way. Alpha and Beta are binary stars revolving around each other, while Proxima revolves around the pair.



http://www.allthesky.com/various/by32abc...



In order to help give these facts some perspective in both speed and distance (taking into account the galactic case of Newton's laws), Earth spins at 1000 MPH (approx.) at the equator. It orbits the Sun at 66,000 MPH (approx.). Our solar system meanwhile, dashes through the Milky Way at 481,000 MPH (approx.).

Our telescopes have a hard time seeing past the region where Pluto lies, much less anywhere else.

Answer 3

There is nothing between galaxies except for a stray atom here and there.

I suppose it is conceivable that something may have caused a planet or star or meteor to go rogue and just sail off into intergalactic space but that would be exceptionally unique and rare.  In almost all cases they should be re-captured by the gravity of a galaxy and drawn back in.

EDIT:  Checking on it they have in fact spotted (only in the last few years) a few rogue stars believed to be hurled out of the galactic center by the black hole there (the only thing powerful enough to accelerate a star sufficiently to escape the galaxy).

Still pretty rare though.

Answer 4

Sure, we can see individual stars from other galaxies, only if the hubble space telescope is doing the observing.

The andromda galaxy, the closest galaxy to ours, is 2.5 million light years away; the biggest star in our sky is roughly 600 light years away (Antares in the Constellation Scorpius).

When viewing the andromeda galaxy in a 10' inch reflector, the galaxy appears as a black/white/somewhat greenish smug with a bright bulge in the middle. In places where light pollution is less, you can see spiral details, but no individual stars.

As far as things between other galaxies and ours, sure, there are rogue stars (High-velocity stars) that shoot out from the galaxy, usually due to some sort of gravitational conflict.

Answer 5

yes, we can see individual stars in other galaxsees. hubble (the person) did this a century ago.

yes, there are rogue stars in between galaxsees. they must be awfully lonely.