A Search for Halo Triaxiality from the APS Catalog of POSS I

Session 22 -- Galactic Structure; Galactic Center
Display presentation, Monday, 9, 1995, 9:20am - 6:30pm

[22.10] A Search for Halo Triaxiality from the APS Catalog of POSS I

J.A. Larsen, R.M. Humphreys (University of Minnesota)

We present our initial results from a search for triaxiality in the Galactic stellar halo using the APS Catalog of the POSS I. Star counts are made in two colors in 16 square degree fields in the direction of the Galactic center and anticenter. The fields have an average completeness limit of 20.5 magnitudes in O and 19.5 magnitudes in E. If the halo is triaxial our magnitude limited sample should show bluer stars (O - E $\leq$ 1.0) on one side of the galactic center to be brighter and more numerous than those on the other side. This signature may be reflected when looking towards the anticenter. For many of the fields, sample color-magnitude diagrams and luminosity functions are shown.

Monday program listing