So - called pointy end van The finger is the of the towards the Melkweg van Leading Arm of gas that streams ahead of the Magellanic Clouds.
Until last year, astronomers generally thought that the Magellanic Clouds had orbited our Galaxy many times, and were doomed to be ripped apart and swallowed by their gravitational overlord.
Buton the other hand new Hubble Space Telescope measurements showed the Clouds were moving much faster than previously thought. In turn, this implied that the Clouds are paying our Galaxy a one - time visit rather than being its long-term companions.
Knowing where the Leading Arm is crossing the Galactic Disk may help astronomers to predict where the Clouds themselves will go in future.
„We think the Leading Arm is a tidal gravity.“ said Dr mcClure-Griffiths van de feature. gas pulled out of the Magellanic Clouds by the Melkweg.
"Where this gas goes, wewould expect the Clouds to follow, at least approximately."
Van measurement of where the Leading Arm van The team de into the Melkweg is more in line with the models that assume the Magellanic Clouds intrudes have been orbiting our Galaxy than with the models that have the Clouds just passing by.
Dr McClure-Griffiths cautions that this is not the final word on the subject, saying that the latter models were far from ruled out.
Het rather than zooming van de Melkweg. van Magellanic Clouds van But the new result suggests that the will eventually merge with the past. |
