A satellite and the “future victim” of the Milky Way galaxy is showing a mysterious resistance.
According to Science Alert, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a dwarf galaxy visible to the naked eye in the Southern Hemisphere, is exerting a strong and mysterious influence on the edge of the Milky Way.
The LMC is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, measuring only about 10-20% the size of the Earth’s galaxy. It is gradually approaching the Milky Way, marking the beginning of a merger process expected to unfold over the next 2 billion years.
Close-up of the vibrant world of LMC, still actively forming stars – (Photo: NASA/ESA/Hubble).
According to Dr. Eugene Vasiliev from the University of Cambridge (UK), the lead author of the study, LMC has long been thought to be a quiet neighbor, merely enduring as the Milky Way began to distort its spiral arms.
The new research shows that the Milky Way is also being altered by this interaction; for example, stars and star streams closest to the LMC have skewed orbits, and other structural changes have been detected. The regions closer to the LMC exhibit more anomalies, clearly indicating the culprit.
It is a subtle distortion, but it is noticeable. The structures closer to the LMC are increasingly anomalous, further identifying the responsible party.
The challenge lies in the fact that while evidence of these changes can be observed, capturing the entire galaxy for a comprehensive examination is not an easy task, unlike imaging distant galaxies. The Milky Way also obstructs our view of itself. Therefore, the study had to rely partially on models to fill in the gaps.
The results further highlight how galaxy mergers can occur. The Milky Way is expected to merge with the LMC, and after a few billion years, will continue to clash with the larger Andromeda galaxy.
