Read moreCold gas sparks cosmic stream debate
Australian and Japanese astronomers have for the first time detected cold hydrogen in the Magellanic Stream, a ribbon of gas that stretches halfway around our galaxy.The find has sparked off a debate about the ultimate fate of the Stream, which despite containing no stars, is thought by some astronomers to be the birthplace of new dwarf galaxies.
The research, led by PhD student Deanna Matthews from La Trobe University in Melbourne, was published in a recent issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The Magellanic Stream trails 180 degrees across the sky behind the Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way.It is thought to be the result of gas being ripped out of the Magellanic Clouds by our larger galaxy.
The researchers used the Australia Telescope Compact Array near Narrabri, New South Wales, to detect the absorption of radio waves by hydrogen gas in the Stream.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
No comments:
Post a Comment