... DISK т?? ... stars . ... Isolating the stellar disks of Andromeda . The discovery and properties of the thick disk will constrain the dominant physical processes involved in the formation and evolution of large spiral galaxies. ... A team of astronomers from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe has identified a thick stellar disk in the nearby Andromeda Galaxy for the first time. ... The discovery of a similar thick disk in Andromeda presents a much cleaner view of spiral structure. ...