Halo star

Halo stars are high-velocity stars that are very old and do not share the motion of most other stars in the solar neighbourhood which are in similar circular orbits around the centre of the Galaxy. Rather, they travel in elliptical orbits, which often take them well outside the plane of the Galaxy. Although their orbital velocities in the Galaxy may be no faster than local stars, their different paths result in the high relative velocities.

Typical examples are the halo stars passing through the disk of the galaxy at steep angles. An example is Kapteyn's star.

See also

• galactic halo