List of stellar streams

This is a list of stellar streams. A stellar stream is an association of stars orbiting a galaxy taking the appearance of an elongated stream of stars. Stars that are part of stellar streams were often once part of a globular cluster or dwarf galaxy. However, their original system has now been torn apart and stretched out along its orbit by the tidal forces of the larger galaxy. An exception in the list about Milky Way streams given below is the Magellanic Stream, composed of gas (mostly hydrogen), although in 2023, a population of stars has been described inside it.

Local Group streams

Milky Way streams

+ Known streams in the Milky Way Name Origin Mass(solar masses) Length(light-years) Composition Discovery year Arcturus stream Defunct dwarf galaxy Unknown Unknown Old stars deficient in heavy elements 1971 Magellanic Stream Large and Small Magellanic Clouds 200 million 1 million Hydrogen gas 1972 Sagittarius Stream Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy 100 million 1 million Wide variety of stars 1994 Helmi stream Defunct dwarf galaxy 10—100 million Several complete loops around the Milky Way Old stars deficient in heavy elements 1999 Palomar 5 stream (Serpens Stream) Globular cluster Palomar 5 5,000 30,000 Old stars 2001 Virgo Stream Defunct dwarf galaxy 30,000 2001 Monoceros Ring Canis Major Overdensity 100 million 200,000 Intermediate age stars 2002 Anticenter stream Defunct dwarf galaxy Unknown 30,000 Old stars 2006 GD-1 Globular cluster Metal-poor stars 2006 NGC 5466 stream45 Degree tidal stream Globular cluster NGC 5466 10,000 60,000 Very old stars 2006 Orphan stream Unknown source (hence its name) Unknown 20,000 Old stars 2006 Acheron stream Globular cluster 2007 Boötes III stream Embedded in, and possible progenitor of the Styx stream 2007 Cocytus stream Globular cluster 2007 Lethe stream Globular cluster 10,000 18,000 Old, metal-poor stars 2007 Styx stream Defunct dwarf galaxy (possibly Boötes III) 2007 Cetus Polar Stream Defunct dwarf galaxy Unknown Unknown Old stars 2009 Aquarius Stream Defunct dwarf galaxy Unknown 30,000 Old stars 2010 Lamost 1 Disrupted globular cluster 21,000 Intermediate-age stars 2015 Phoenix Stream Disrupted globular cluster Unknown 8,000 Very old stars 2016 S1 Stream disrupted dwarf galaxy 94 2017 Fimbulthul stream Globular cluster Omega Centauri 318 2019 Pisces-Eridanus stream disrupted cluster or association 2,000 1,300 very young (~120 Myr) nearby (260 - 870 light-years) stream2019 Nyx stream remnant of a disrupted dwarf galaxy — long-ago galaxy merger about 200 stars 2020 Specter stream disrupted ultra-faint dwarf galaxy 2,000 18,000 2022

Andromeda Galaxy streams

+ Known streams in the Andromeda Galaxy Name Origin Mass(solar masses) Length(light-years) Composition Discovery year M31 Giant stellar stream Andromeda NE stellar stream 2004 Tidal Stream Northwest (Tidal Stream E and F)disrupted dwarf galaxies 2009 Tidal Stream Southwest 2009 East Cloud North Spur Stream A Stream B Stream C Stream D

Streams beyond the Local Group

Due to new deeper sky surveys, such as the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey, a large number of streams are to be expected to be discovered in the future. An initial search in 2023 by Martínez-Delgado et al. searched 389 galaxies and found 89 candidates with stellar streams (22,9%). They plan to search about 3100 galaxies, which might yield hundreds of candidates. In the pasts less sensitive surveys such as SDSS were only able to detect the brightest stellar streams.

+ Other known streams outside the Local GroupNameLocationOriginMass(solar masses)Length(light-years)CompositionCharacteristicsDiscovery yearYoung Blue Tidal StreamNGC 5128A gas fragment ora dwarf galaxy2002stream 947-4966NGC 4013former dwarf satellite with low inclination orbitlarge looping structure20089477-J0949.4-STO 749988 (SMS J 4977449 tI947)NGC 5907low-mass satellite accretionmultiple surrounding loops2009NGC 4651satellite accretionnarrow jet-like structure and surrounding debris shell2010NGC 3521satellite accretionjet-like structure and surrounding debris shell2010NGC 7531satellite accretionsurrounding debris shell2010NGC 1084satellite accretionthree giant disconnected plumes of similar width2010NGC 4216satellite accretionongoing tidal disruption of satellite galaxies seen as long tails extending from the progenitor satellite2010NGC 1055satellite accretionclear box shaped inner halo sprinkled with a plethora of coherent spikes2010NGC 5291galaxy interactiontwo separate tidal tails to the north and south?petal of the sunflowerMessier 63 (NGC 5055)dwarf satellite accretion4 × 1081979/2011NGC 5387satellite accretion6 × 10811.7 kpcyoung starsenhanced star formation, metal-poor2014feather on the hatMessier 104 (NGC 4594)major mergerextremely metal rich2021NGC 4303{https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.24836}leftovers of a dwarf galaxy that was torn apart by M61's gravity2 × 10850 kpc first stellar stream discovered with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory2025

List of stellar streams

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