Related papers: The Galactic Halo UV Field, Magellanic Stream and …
We present deep Halpha spectroscopy towards several high-velocity clouds (HVCs) which vary in structure from compact (CHVCs) to the Magellanic Stream. The clouds range from being bright (~640 mR) to having upper limits on the order of 30 to…
There has been much debate in recent decades as to what fraction of ionizing photons from star forming regions in the Galactic disk escape into the halo. The recent detection of the Magellanic Stream in optical line emission at the CTIO 4m…
We present some developments in determining H-alpha distances to high-velocity clouds (HVCs) in the Galactic halo. Until recently, it was difficult to assess the nature and origin of HVCs because so little was known about them. But now…
We report results from a survey of high velocity clouds and the Magellanic Stream for faint, diffuse optical recombination emission lines. We detect H-alpha emission with surface brightness from 41 to 1680 milli-Rayleighs (mR) from HVCs,…
Optical emission lines have now been detected from about 20 high velocity clouds. These emission lines -- primarily H-alpha, secondarily [N II] and [S II] -- are very faint and diffuse, spread over the surfaces of the clouds. We compile…
The Magellanic Stream, a gaseous tail that trails behind the Magellanic Clouds, could replenish the Milky Way with a tremendous amount of gas if it reaches the Galactic disk before it evaporates into the halo. To determine how the…
There has been much debate in recent decades as to what fraction of ionizing photons from star forming regions in the Galactic disk escape into the halo. The recent detection of the Magellanic Stream in optical line emission at the CTIO 4m…
Searching the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) and its northern extension, we detected a population of very compact high-velocity clouds (HVCs) with similar velocities in the Galactic standard-of-rest frame which appear to be arranged in…
We have detected faint, diffuse H$\alpha emission from several points along the Magellanic Stream, using the Rutgers Fabry--Perot Interferometer at the CTIO 1.5-m telescope. At points on the leading edges of the H I clouds MS II, MS III,…
Since its discovery in 1996, the source of the bright H-alpha emission (up to 750 mR) along the Magellanic Stream has remained a mystery. There is no evidence of ionising stars within the HI stream, and the extended hot halo is far too…
High-velocity clouds (HVC), fast-moving ionized and neutral gas clouds found at high galactic latitudes, may play an important role in the evolution of the Milky Way. The extent of this role depends sensitively on their distances and total…
The Magellanic Stream and several high velocity clouds have now been detected in optical line emission. The observed emission measures and kinematics are most plausibly explained by photoionization due to hot, young stars in the Galactic…
The high- and intermediate-velocity interstellar clouds (HVCs/IVCs) are tracers of energetic processes in and around the Milky Way. Clouds with near-solar metallicity about one kpc above the disk trace the circulation of material between…
In this contribution the current state of knowledge about the high-velocity clouds (HVCs) is summarized. Recent progress has shown that the HVCs are a diverse phenomenon. The intermediate-velocity clouds (IVCs) are likely to be part of a…
We have mapped two regions at the northern tip of the Magellanic Stream in neutral hydrogen 21-cm emission using the Arecibo telescope. The new data are used to study the morphology and properties of the Stream far away from the Magellanic…
Optical emission lines provide an important new window on the HVCs. Recent studies of the H-alpha line reveal that ionized gas is pervasively associated with the neutral hydrogen in HVCs. The Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper (WHAM) instrument has…
We have obtained high resolution FUSE and HST/STIS echelle observations of the quasar PG 1116+215. The semi-continuous coverage of the ultraviolet spectrum over the wavelength range 916-2800 provides detections of Galactic and high velocity…
The Magellanic HI Stream (~2x10^9 Msun [d/55 kpc]^2) encircling the Galaxy at a distance 'd' is arguably the most important tracer of what happens to gas accreting onto a disk galaxy. Recent observations reveal that the Stream's mass is in…
We summarize recent attempts to detect warm ionized gas at large galactocentric distances. This includes searching for gas at the edges of spirals, in between cluster galaxies, towards extragalactic HI clouds, and towards high velocity…
The Magellanic Stream is a 100\deg x 10\deg filament of gas which lies within the Galactic halo and contains ~ 2 x 10^8 \Msun of neutral hydrogen. We present data from the HI Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS) in the first complete survey of…