Starship Asterisk*

There is no correct position, [url=http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/8515/rotatingnightskysj6.jpg]as the night sky rotates.[/url] "A bit [i]above[/i] this nebula" just after sunset, becomes "a bit [i]below[/i] this nebula" just before sunrise.
However, in [url=http://tinyurl.com/2s6zgb]Chile[/url] in October, the SMC is at it highest point in the sky around 1 a.m., and then 47 Tuc would be to the right.

Thank-you, Case.

[quote="Phil G"]If I could see them through my scope, where would I see 47Tuc?[/quote]
You would have to travel far south (like Chile) to even see it, because the SMC stays below the horizon from Florida.
There is no correct position, [url=http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/8515/rotatingnightskysj6.jpg]as the night sky rotates.[/url] "A bit [i]above[/i] this nebula" just after sunset, becomes "a bit [i]below[/i] this nebula" just before sunrise.
However, in [url=http://tinyurl.com/2s6zgb]Chile[/url] in October, the SMC is at it highest point in the sky around 1 a.m., and then 47 Tuc would be to the right.
[img]http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3262/smcphotoorientationhb6.png[/img]

[quote="13 Rabbit"]Same photo shown on 2005 June 17.

One view is flipped horizontally and vertically of the other.[/quote]

I looked at the other replies. but couldn't tell which is the correct position. I have two photos with 47Tuc on the right; this has it on the left. If I could see them through my scope [my eyesight is too poor], where would I see 47Tuc?
Thanks, Phil Gilman

[quote="Unzy"]I have the idea that both magellanic clouds might be an whole galaxy that has split during an encounting with another galaxy[/quote]
The motion of the Magellanic Clouds with respect to our galaxy [url=http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2007/pr200722.html]has been measured[/url]. They didn't mention that their paths have ever crossed. It would be a great discovery if it had. They did mention that it is unlikely that the Clouds are orbiting our galaxy (they're going too fast for that); most likely they're just passing by.

Their speed away from us is in the same order as the orbital speed of our solar system around our galaxy. Which -I think- means that any speed they have is in a plane perpendicular to our line of sight.
That would rule out that our galaxy ripped an early unified Magellanic Could apart, because of remaining distant. [url=http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/sattelit.html]There is nothing else big enough in the vicinity[/url] to do this splitting. So I doubt it happened at all.

Thanks for the clarifications! It was clear that something was amisss, but I wasn't sure exactly what.

No, Smitty. 47 Tuc is the larger one to the left, NGC 362 is the smaller one to the bottom right. They used the description from 2005 June 17; however, the image has a different orientation. They corrected the reference for 47 Tuc, but not NGC 362. See Case's links.

I see marek posted the same information before I did. (08:45 CDT)

[quote="smitty"]The description of the two globular clusters' locations is very confusing. I assume NGC 362 is the larger one located at the 8 o'clock position and 47 Tucanae is at the smaller one located at the 5 o'clock position (which is not, as stated, to the left of the Cloud of Magellan)?[/quote]

Author made one change (right => left) in the description of the photo comparing to the description of the photo from 2005 June 17 - but forgot the second correction: (top left) => (bottom right) - position of NGC 362 in the flipped photo.

The description of the two globular clusters' locations is very confusing. I assume NGC 362 is the larger one located at the 8 o'clock position and 47 Tucanae is at the smaller one located at the 5 o'clock position (which is not, as stated, to the left of the Cloud of Magellan)?

[quote="13 Rabbit"]Same photo shown on 2005 June 17.[/quote]
Similar, but not the same.
- Different photo credit,
- More blueish hue in [url=http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050617.html]the old one[/url],
- Less fuzzy/cloudy in [url=http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071001.html]the new one[/url],
- More stars resolved in the new one.

Same photo shown on 2005 June 17.

One view is flipped horizontally and vertically of the other.

Since a long time I have the idea that both magellanic clouds might be an whole galaxy that has split during an encounting with another galaxy (maybe our milkyway)

What brings me on that thinking?

The fact that they seems to be in the same portion of the sky. I know they may be distant from each other but objects are'nt fixed in the sky, so an hypotetic catastrophical encounting may have pull each part far from each other.

Well that's just a personnal point of view :)