The little magellanic cloud is slowly dying, according to a study

The small cloud of Magellan a dwarf galaxy located near the Milky Way and one of the farthest objects visible to the naked eye, dies slowly due to the gradual loss of his energy. to form stars, published Monday a study of Australian astronomers.

"The galaxies that stop forming stars gradually fade into oblivion, it's kind of a slow death of a galaxy that loses all its gas," said the leader. of Research Naomi McClure-Griffits of the Australian National University (ANU).

ANU scientists as well as their colleagues from the government scientific agency CSIRO used the powerful radio telescope SKA Pathfinder called ASKAP, to obtain images three times more accurate than those taken previously.

"We were able to observe a hydrogen leakage from the Small Magellanic Cloud," explained McClure-Griffits in an official note from the ANU.

The scientist specified that the loss of this gas, the main element of the universe and key in the stars, implies that "the galaxy eventually cease to be able to form new stars."

The Little Magellanic Cloud is , like the great magellanic cloud, a dwarf galaxy and, with its "relative" have 200,000 and 160,000 years light, respectively, of the Milky Way

The astronomer believes that this Discovery, which is part of a project that studies the evolution of galaxies, provides the first clear measure of the amount of mbad that loses a dwarf galaxy.

"The result is also important because it provides a possible source of gas for the enormous magellanic current that surrounds the Milky Way … In the end, it is very likely that the peque The magellanic cloud is engulfed by our Milky Way, "he said.

CSIRO researcher David McConnell stated that the ASKAP telescope, owned by the government agency, was ideal for this observation. to its unique radio receivers that give a panoramic view of the sky.

The telescope could cover the whole of the Little Magellanic Cloud in one shot and photograph its hydrogen gas with an unprecedented level of detail.

In September, Australian scientists at the International Center for Astronomical Research reported that Magellan's clouds may be accompanied by a third galaxy, which they finally swallowed up ago. thousands of years.