Detection of a Nearby Halo Debris Stream in the WISE and 2MASS Surveys

Abstract

Combining the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer All-Sky Release with the 2MASS Point Source Catalog, we detect a nearby, moderately metal-poor stellar debris stream spanning 24 degrees across the southern sky. The stream, which we designate Alpheus, is at an estimated distance of ~1.9 kpc. Its position, orientation, width, estimated metallicity, and to some extent its distance, are in approximate agreement with what one might expect of the leading tidal tail of the southern globular cluster NGC 288.