High-velocity cloud
Add link to plasma
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{{expert needed|Astronomy|reason= this article shows bias towards the local region, there are known HVCs around the Andromeda Galaxy, but this treats the phenomena as Milky Way objects|date= April 2013}} |
{{expert needed|Astronomy|reason= this article shows bias towards the local region, there are known HVCs around the Andromeda Galaxy, but this treats the phenomena as Milky Way objects|date= April 2013}} |
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'''High-velocity clouds''' ('''HVCs''') are large accumulations of plasma with an unusually rapid motion relative to their surroundings. They can be found throughout the [[galactic halo]] of the [[Milky Way]]. Their bulk motions in the [[local standard of rest]] have velocities which are measured in excess of 70–90 km s−1. These clouds of plasma can be massive in size, some on the order of millions of times the [[solar mass|mass of the Sun]] (), and cover large portions of the sky. They have been observed in the Milky Way's halo and within other nearby galaxies. |
'''High-velocity clouds''' ('''HVCs''') are large accumulations of [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]] with an unusually rapid motion relative to their surroundings. They can be found throughout the [[galactic halo]] of the [[Milky Way]]. Their bulk motions in the [[local standard of rest]] have velocities which are measured in excess of 70–90 km s−1. These clouds of plasma can be massive in size, some on the order of millions of times the [[solar mass|mass of the Sun]] (), and cover large portions of the sky. They have been observed in the Milky Way's halo and within other nearby galaxies. |
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HVCs are important to the understanding of galactic evolution because they account for a large amount of [[baryonic matter]] in the galactic halo. In addition, as these clouds fall into the disk of the galaxy, they add material that can form stars in addition to the dilute star forming material already present in the disk. This new material aids in maintaining the [[star formation]] rate (SFR) of the galaxy. |
HVCs are important to the understanding of galactic evolution because they account for a large amount of [[baryonic matter]] in the galactic halo. In addition, as these clouds fall into the disk of the galaxy, they add material that can form stars in addition to the dilute star forming material already present in the disk. This new material aids in maintaining the [[star formation]] rate (SFR) of the galaxy. |
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