[33.11] Absorption Line Studies of Milky Way Halo Gas

AAS 200th meeting, Albuquerque, NM, June 2002
Session 33. Gaseous Galaxy Halos and Edges of Disk Galaxies
Topical Session Oral, Tuesday, June 4, 2002, 8:30-10:00am, 10:45am-12:30pm, 2:00-3:30pm, 3:45-5:30pm, Ballroom A

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[33.11] Absorption Line Studies of Milky Way Halo Gas

J.C. Howk (Johns Hopkins)

The Milky Way is enveloped in a highly-ionized interstellar "halo." Absorption line studies of this gas help us understand its distribution, kinematics, and physical conditions, which in turn constrain models of the global evolution of the interstellar medium in our Galaxy. In particular, recent FUSE studies of interstellar O VI, which traces hot, collisionally ionized gas in galactic environments,have elucidated the distribution of such gas in the low halo, or interstellar "thick disk," as well as providing evidence for a more extended Galactic "corona." I will review the current observational picture (both small scale and global) of the gaseous Milky Way halo, with particular emphasis on the contributions of FUSE to our understanding of this material.

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