spiral arm

noun

, Astronomy.

1. any of the elongated and curved spiral sections that are connected to the center of a spiral galaxy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of spiral arm¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

That suggests FRBs originate with ordinary young stars — not the youngest, most massive stars that occupy the brightest knots in the spiral arms, but not the oldest and dimmest stars that have drifted away from their homes, either.

From Science News

The fast radio bursts, or FRBs, come from the spiral arms of their host galaxies, researchers report in a study to appear in the Astrophysical Journal.

From Science News

They ascertained that magnetic field lines arc both clockwise and counterclockwise along the spiral arms of the galaxy and emanate vertically from the galactic disk, twisting as they rise.

From Quanta Magazine

As the Earth orbits the sun, the sun also moves, traveling around the Milky Way galaxy, carried by a spiral arm in the direction of the constellation Cygnus.

From Science News

It neglects the clumping of stars into spiral arms, which the group hopes to consider in future research.

From Popular-Science

Tantalus lay far out on a spiral arm, well away from the main stream of traffic that flowed through the galaxy.

From Project Gutenberg

Xanabar lays across the Spiral Arm, a sprawling sphere of influence vast, mighty, solid at the core.

From Project Gutenberg