Astronomers Witness Galactic Fights Between David and Goliath [Report]



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Astronomers witnessed, in great detail, a violent brawl between David and Goliath between two nearby galaxies separating into the flow gaseous Magellanic Stream. Cosmic river of blood surrounding our Milky Way.

The new ANU-led study investigated the violent throttling between Magellan's large and small clouds – dwarf galaxies on the outskirts of the Milky Way visible at night. naked eye in the southern hemisphere.

Dr. Dougal, senior researcher Mackey, of the ANU, said that the team had created a very low star map on the outer edges of the clouds using the camera to Dark energy installed on the 4 m Blanco telescope in Chile and had revealed that the clouds had had repeated interactions with each other over billions of years. 19659003] "This fight is very similar to the one David and Goliath could have had if the little guy had not had such a chance with his slingshot," said Dr. Mackey of the School of Astronomy Research and astrophysics of ANU.

"The Great Magellanic Cloud really beats its smallest companion: the outer parts of the Little Cloud are strongly elongated towards the Great Cloud and away from it."

The ages in the small cloud indicate unpleasant possible encounters with the big cloud that goes back several billion years.

"The great cloud did not come out unscathed from these fights, because the nearest side of the small magellanic cloud is heavily deformed and carved, and other parts of its periphery exhibit major distortions. "

Dr. Mackey said the results provided further evidence that the violent and continuous conflicts between the two clouds had created Magellan flow.

"The clouds will finally be completely consumed by the Milky Way, but we would like to know how much time they have left. and what kind of impact they will have before their ultimate destruction, he said.

"We have also revealed, to the smallest detail so far, the formation of young stars in the Magellan Stream, between clouds – this part of the Flux is known. as Magellan Bridge. "

Dr. Mackey added that the team had also discovered a tiny galaxy up to then unknown, called Hydrus I, located between the two clouds.

" This galaxy is part of ". a clbad known as the ultra-weak dwarves, whose existence was discovered only around 10 years ago, are dwarf galaxies of very low light, but they still contain a lot of dark matter, "he said.

There is a broad scientific consensus that dark matter – a subject that scientists can not see – is widely present in the universe and helps to explain how

"Hydrus I will probably be a cloud satellite or both that has fallen into the Milky Way with its greatest companions," said Dr. Mackey.

Astronomers from the United Kingdom and the United States United supported the study published in the Astrophysica l Letters Journal .

More information:
Dougal Mackey et al. Substructures and tidal distortions in the Magellan stellar periphery, The Astrophysical Journal (2018). DOI: 10.3847 / 2041-8213 / aac175

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Astronomers have witnessed, to the smallest detail so far, a brutal David-vs-Goliath clash between two nearby galaxies that are tearing each other apart and throwing themselves into the gaseous Magellanic Stream , a cosmic river of blood encircling our Milky Way. .

The new ANU-led study investigated the violent throttling between large and small Magellanic clouds, from dwarf galaxies on the outskirts of the Milky Way visible at night to the Naked eye in the southern hemisphere.

Dr. Dougal, Principal Investigator Mackey, of the ANU, said that the team had created a very low star map on the outer edges of the clouds at the same time. using the dark energy camera installed on the 4 m Blanco telescope in Chile and had revealed that the clouds had had repeated interactions with each other over the course of billions of years. 19659020] "This fight is very similar to the one David and Goliath could have had if the little guy had not had such a chance with his sling," said Dr. Mackey of the School of Astronomy Research and astrophysics of ANU.

"The Great Magellanic Cloud really beats its smallest companion – the outer parts of the Little Cloud are stretched far towards the Great Cloud and away from it."

The distribution of stars at diff The ages in the small cloud indicate unpleasant possible encounters with the great cloud that goes back several billion years.

"The great cloud did not come out unscathed from these fights, because the nearest side of the little magellanic cloud is strongly deformed and carved, and other parts of its periphery exhibit major distortions. "

Dr. Mackey said the results provided further evidence that the continual and unpleasant conflicts between the two clouds had created the Magellan flow.

"The clouds will finally be completely consumed by the Milky Way, but we would like to know how much time they have left. and what kind of impact they will have before their ultimate destruction, he said.

"We have also revealed, to the smallest detail up to now, the formation of young stars forming in Magellanic Stream between clouds – this part of the Stream is known. as Magellan Bridge. "

Dr. Mackey added that the team had also discovered a previously unknown tiny galaxy, called Hydrus I, located between the two clouds.

" This galaxy is part of a clbad known as the name of ultra-weak dwarves, whose existence was discovered only around 10 years ago, are dwarf galaxies of very low luminosity, but they still contain a lot of dark matter ",

"Hydrus I will probably be a Cloud satellite or both that has fallen into the Milky Way with its greatest companions," said Dr. Mackey.

Astronomers from the United Kingdom United and United States supported the study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters .

More information:
Dougal Mackey et al. Substructures and tidal distortions in the Magellan stellar periphery, The Astrophysical Journal (2018). DOI: 10.3847 / 2041-8213 / aac175

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