International Center for Radio Astronomy Research | 2018 Sep 18
Two of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way—the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds—may have had a third companion, astronomers believe.The Large Magellanic Cloud photographed using a small telephoto lens and a modified
DSLR camera to highlight the molecular clouds. (Credit: Andrew Lockwood)
Research published today describes how another “luminous” galaxy was likely engulfed by the Large Magellanic Cloud some three to five billion years ago.
ICRAR Masters student Benjamin Armstrong, the lead author on the study, said most stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud rotate clockwise around the centre of the galaxy. But, unusually, some stars rotate anti-clockwise.
“For a while, it was thought that these stars might have come from its companion galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud,” Mr. Armstrong said. “Our idea was that these stars might have come from a merger with another galaxy in the past.” ...
Mr. Armstrong said the finding could help to explain a problem that has perplexed astronomers for years -- why stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud are generally either very old or very young. ...
Formation of a Counter-Rotating Stellar Population in the
Large Magellanic Cloud: A Magellanic Triplet System? ~ B. Armstrong, K. Bekki
- Monthly Notices of the RAS: Letters 480(1):L141 (Oct 2018) DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/sly143 (preprint)