It is known that the orbits of globular clusters are highly eccentric and inclined to the plane of the galaxy.
August 2, 2020 | Education
| It is known that the orbits of globular clusters are highly eccentric and inclined to the plane of the galaxy. Explain why there are more globular clusters in the halo of galaxies than near their cores?
It follows from Kepler’s second law that the speed of motion of a celestial body near the point of the orbit farthest from the center of gravity is less than near the center. Therefore, globular clusters spend most of their time away from the center of the galaxy. And since their orbits are inclined to the plane of the galaxy at large angles, they leave the disk and find themselves in a halo far from the plane of the Milky Way.
