The stretching of Hercules
  We present VLT/FORS2 spectroscopy of candidate blue horizontal branch (BHB)
stars in the vicinity of the Hercules ultrafaint dwarf galaxy. We identify
eight convincing Hercules BHB members, and a further five stars with similar
systemic velocities to that of Hercules, but ~ 0.5 kpc from the centre of the
galaxy along its major axis. It is likely that these stars once belonged to
Hercules, but have been tidally stripped and are now unbound. We emphasise the
usefulness of looking for any gradient in the systemic velocity of this
stretched system, which would further support our interpretation of the origin
of its elongated and distended morphology.
