Light from stars or other galaxies?

[jeremy_swinarton]

When you look at a picture of a galaxy you can see points of light around it. Are those stars or galaxies?<br />Do stars have to be part of a galaxy or can they stand alone in the middle of space?

 

[5stone10]

If you're talking about looking at Hubble pictures - then more often than not you're looking at points of light which represent galaxies - especially the deep field collection.

 

[nexium]

The points of light we see around a picture of a galaxy are usually much closer stars in our own galaxy, but some are possibility more distant galaxies. Stars do not have to be part of a galaxy, but "stand' is not correct, as they are likely moving faster than any of the near by galaxies. We may be assuming incorrectly that lighted stars in the void between galaxies are rare. Neil

 

[jcdenton]

<font color="yellow">We may be assuming incorrectly that lighted stars in the void between galaxies are rare.</font><br /><br />Matter is extremely sparse in the void between galaxies (roughly 1 atom per cubic meter), so we can only assume that stars located outside galactic halos are exceedingly rare. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>