Starship Asterisk*

Galaxies sometimes acrete or gather dwarf galaxies...

The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are apparently in the process of colliding with the Milky Way Galaxy.

That being the case, it may eventually be found that the Tarantula Nebula is actually the captured core of a once separate dwarf galaxy, now gravitationally bound to the Large Magellanic Cloud?

Does anyone know if there are any proper motion studies or stellar population studies within the nebula that may indicate this to be the case?

The milky way has ripped the small galaxy apart leaving the so called small clouds.

No problem Makc! I saw that the other post was getting more hits.

Orin

Do we get brownie points for more hits.

Smile

An interesting sidenote:

@: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0601/09milkyway/

This article contends that the 'waves' found in the structure of the Milky Way Galaxy may be caused by 'dark matter' in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.

Hmmm... 'Dark Matter'? Or, could that be, intergallactic magnetic fields?

Aqua,
Intergalactic magnetic fields?!!! A very interesting concept. It would be interesting to send some probe out to the point where you could view any possible galactic magnetic field. If there is one, and it could be measured, then one might have proof of an attractor mechanism that would function on a glactic level. (Basic physics: opposites magnetic poles attract and like poles repel)