Space

Hello, Small Magellanic Cloud

Atomic hydrogen gas in the Small Magellanic Cloud, via the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP)/ CSIRO/ ANU.

Astronomers at Australian National University (ANU) said on November 28, 2017 that they’ve created the most detailed radio image yet of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a famous sky-sight from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere and a dwarf galaxy orbiting our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The image shows the galaxy not in terms of its stars and dust, as optical images do, but in terms of its hydrogen gas. ANU astronomer Naomi McClure-Griffiths, who co-led the study, said:

Hydrogen is the fundamental building block of all galaxies and shows off the more extended structure of a galaxy than its stars and dust.

She said the image reveals distortions to the Small Magellanic Cloud, which likely occurred because of its interactions with the larger galaxies and because of its own star explosions that push gas out of the galaxy:

The outlook for this dwarf galaxy is not good, as it’s likely to eventually be gobbled up by our Milky Way.

Together, the [Large and Small] Magellanic Clouds are characterised by their distorted structures, a bridge of material that connects them, and an enormous stream of hydrogen gas that trails behind their orbit – a bit like a comet.

The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds by Justin Ng of Singapore.

The astronomers said their new radio image helps them understand how the Small Magellanic Cloud – and presumably the several dozen dwarf galaxies orbiting our Milky Way – formed and evolved.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) – the federal government agency for scientific research in Australia – acquired the image via its new radio telescope, called the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). Naomi McClure-Griffiths said:

The new image … reveals more gas around the edges of the galaxy, indicating a very dynamic past for the Small Magellanic Cloud. These features are more than three times smaller than we were able to see before and allow us to probe the detailed interaction of the small galaxy and its environment.

The new image (top of post) was created as part of a survey that aims to study the evolution of galaxies.

An optical image of part of the Small Magellanic Cloud via NASA/ ESA/ Hubble Heritage Team/ ANU.

Bottom line: Astronomers at Australian National University have created the most detailed radio image yet of the Small Magellanic Cloud.

Via ANU

Posted 
November 30, 2017
 in 
Space

Like what you read?
Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.

Your email address will only be used for EarthSky content. Privacy Policy
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

More from 

Deborah Byrd

View All