Neighbor galaxy caught stealing starts
The Milky Way’s near neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), has accreted a smattering of stars from its smaller neighbor, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). In this image, the LMC is shown as it appears in observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope at 3.6, 8.0, and 24 microns. Overlaid in red and blue, with colors representing the line of sight velocities (red = away, blue = towards) are the locations of stars whose origin has been traced to the SMC. These stars were discovered by a team led by NOAO astronomer Knut Olsen, through analysis of spectra obtained at the CTIO 4-m Blanco telescope. Spitzer
Credit:Karl Gordon and Margaret Meixner (Space Telescope Science Institute/AURA/NASA). Compilation by K. Olsen (NOAO/AURA/NSF))
About the Image
Id: | noao1102a |
Type: | Collage |
Release date: | July 18, 2011 |
Related releases: | noao1102 |
Size: | 1758 x 1850 px |
About the Object
Name: | Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud |
Category: | Galaxies |