MASS OF THE MILKY-WAY AND REDSHIFTS OF THE NEARBY GALAXIES

Yet another variant of the numerical action method is presented and ap plied to an analysis of the redshifts of galaxies in the range of dist ances from the Fornax, Leo I, and Leo II dwarf spheriodal companions o f the Milky Way to the outer parts of the Local Group. Orbits consiste nt with observed redshifts follow if the mass concentrated around the Milky Way is about 2 x 10(12) M. and the other nearby galaxies at dist ances less than or similar to 3 Mpc have similar mass-to-light ratios. If this is a fair measure of the mass, then the cosmological density parameter is Omega similar to 0.1. If Omega = 1, then the distribution of the other similar to 90% of the mass as a function of distance fro m the Milky Way in the range 0.3 less than or similar to r less than o r similar to 3 Mpc has to be close enough to homogeneous that it does not cause unacceptably large relative velocities of the nearby groups. This would be difficult to understand if Omega = 1 and the dominant c omponent of the dark mass had negligibly small pressure, because one w ould have expected giant galaxies to have accreted massive halos with radii greater than or similar to 1 Mpc.