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Is the Galaxy losing Mass on a Time Scale of a Billion Years?

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Abstract

If the galaxy has been losing mass in gravitational waves for longer than 109 yr at the rate recently indicated by Weber, it should contain no stars in bound orbits with periods exceeding 109 yr. Analysis of stellar motions indicates that the distribution of periods does have a cut-off close to 109 yr although this may be for other reasons.

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SCIAMA, D. Is the Galaxy losing Mass on a Time Scale of a Billion Years?. Nature 224, 1263–1267 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/2241263a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2241263a0

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