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[14.11] Keck Spectroscopy of Red Giants in the Outer Halo of M31: Discovery of a New Minor-Axis Debris Trail

P. Guhathakurta (UCO/Lick Obs, UCSC), D.B. Reitzel (Dept of Physics & Astron, UCLA)

We present results from a large, ongoing Keck spectroscopic survey of red giant stars in the outer halo of M31. The survey is designed to study the kinematics, metallicity and structure of M31's halo in an attempt to better understand the processes that shaped the halo. We report on the detection of a new debris trail along the minor axis of M31 in the form of a kinematically coherent group of stars with high metallicity.

Data presented herein were obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.