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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2016
The spatial distribution of the outlying satellites of the Galaxy has been determined by fitting a three dimensional surface to the positions of 10 companion galaxies and 13 distant globular clusters. Both groups show a highly flattened distribution whose minor axes are aligned to within ∼ 5°. The combined group of 23 objects shows a triaxial distribution with semimajor axis extending ∼ 400 kpc. The minor axis is inclined at ∼ 76° to the Galactic poles. There is a suggestion of a nested hierarchy consisting of satellite galaxies, globular clusters, and distant halo field stars, in order of decreasing spatial extension.