If you’ve ever wished for a reason to travel south, the stars might just be giving you one. A recent image captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope offers a dazzling view of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), visible only from the Southern Hemisphere.
A Stellar Show Through Hubble’s Lens
It was captured with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. Five filters were used to capture a variety of light wavelengths. These include infrared and ultraviolet light that cannot be seen with the human eye. The outcome is a cotton candy-coloured dreamy swirl of colour. Blue and bright orange stars populate the background. A zoomable image of the photo is now online for space buffs to view.
The LMC can be seen as a fuzzy patch in the southern sky. It's the Milky Way's largest satellite galaxy. Although a dwarf galaxy, the LMC could hold a crucial position in our galaxy's future.
Galactic Encounters Await in the Future
Scientists think the Milky Way will crash into Andromeda in 10 billion years. This nearby spiral galaxy is 2.5 million light-years away. But the LMC could get into the act much earlier. A study in 2019 forecast that this could start as soon as 2.4 billion years from now. Although they are tiny, dwarf galaxies such as the LMC can have a profound impact on larger galaxies.
The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is yet another close-by dwarf galaxy. Together with the LMC, it's one of the few that can be seen without a telescope. From southern skies, from October to February, both can be seen together.
History, Interaction, and Exploration
The SMC and LMC are connected by a gas stream. This is called the Magellanic Bridge, suggesting previous interactions. The galaxies have been orbiting the Milky Way for 1.5 billion years. Recent studies indicate that the SMC could be tearing apart. It could be two distinct galaxies, rather than one.
Both bear explorer Ferdinand Magellan's name. Their long dance in space continues to fascinate scientists and sky gazers.
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