{"id":1495,"date":"2024-11-18T09:46:07","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T09:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brazilianinstituteoftechnology.com\/?page_id=1495"},"modified":"2024-11-18T09:46:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T09:46:07","slug":"como-a-pequena-nuvem-de-magalhaes-sobreviveu-ao-encontro-com-a-via-lactea","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/terrarara.com.br\/en\/?page_id=1495","title":{"rendered":"How the Small Magellanic Cloud Survived its encounter with the Milky Way"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This artist`s concept shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, or LMC, in the foreground as it passes through the gaseous halo of the much more massive Milky Way galaxy. The encounter has blown away most of the spherical halo of gas that surrounds the LMC, as illustrated by the trailing gas stream reminiscent of a comet`s tail. The team surveyed the halo by using the background light of 28 quasars, an exceptionally bright type of active galactic nucleus that shines across the universe like a lighthouse beacon. The lines represent the Hubble Space Telescope`s view from its orbit around Earth to the distant quasars through the LMC`s gas. Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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\r\n\tdoi.org\/10.48550\/arXiv.24<\/a>
Credibility<\/a>: 8<\/font>8<\/font>8<\/font>
#Pequena Nuvem<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>

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\r\n\tNASA`s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a fascinating story of survival in space.<\/strong><\/p>

One of the Milky Way`s closest neighboring galaxies, called the Small Magellanic Cloud (LMC), had a dangerous encounter with the massive halo of gas that surrounds our galaxy.<\/p>

\r\nDespite losing most of its halo of gas, the galaxy managed to come out the other side in one piece and continues to form new stars!\r\n<\/p>

\r\nWhat Happened to the LMC”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe LMC is a dwarf galaxy that appears enormous in the southern sky, covering an area 20 times larger than the full Moon.<\/p>

\r\nAstronomers have discovered that the LMC is not orbiting the Milky Way in a stable manner, but is simply passing through it.<\/p>

\r\nDuring this passage, the galaxy lost much of its halo of gas, something that was first observed thanks to Hubble.\r\n<\/p>

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O conceito deste artista mostra um close-up da Nuvem Magalh\u00c3\u00a2nica Grande (LMC), uma gal\u00c3\u00a1xia an\u00c3\u00a3 que \u00c3\u00a9 uma das vizinhas mais pr\u00c3\u00b3ximas da gal\u00c3\u00a1xia da Via L\u00c3\u00a1ctea.Os cientistas acham que a CML acaba de concluir sua maior aproxima\u00c3\u00a7\u00c3\u00a3o com a muito mais massiva Via L\u00c3\u00a1ctea. Esse encontro levou embora a maior parte do g\u00c3\u00a1s esf\u00c3\u00a9rico que circunda a CML.O arco roxo brilhante \u00c3\u00a0 esquerda representa a borda principal do halo da LMC, que est\u00c3\u00a1 sendo comprimido enquanto o halo da Milky Way empurra para tr\u00c3\u00a1s contra a LMC que est\u00c3\u00a1 chegando.A press\u00c3\u00a3o est\u00c3\u00a1 destruindo grande parte do chal\u00c3\u00a9 da LMC e soprando-o para tr\u00c3\u00a1s em uma cauda de g\u00c3\u00a1s que flui.A gal\u00c3\u00a1xia-an\u00c3\u00a3 est\u00c3\u00a1 em um caix\u00c3\u00a3o dentro de seu halo remanescente. Uma imagem cient\u00c3\u00adfica real da LMC \u00c3\u00a9 combinada com uma renderiza\u00c3\u00a7\u00c3\u00a3o art\u00c3\u00adstica do halo da gal\u00c3\u00a1xia.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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\r\nMeasuring the Gas Halo<\/b>\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe LMC`s gas halo, now very small, is only about 50,000 light-years across, which is 10 times smaller than the halos of other galaxies of similar mass.<\/p>

\r\nThis small size shows the impact of the encounter with the Milky Way.<\/p>

\r\nEven so, the LMC still holds enough gas to form new stars, something smaller galaxies would not be able to do.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe Milky Way Impact:\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThis gas loss event was caused by a phenomenon called “pressure drag stripping.” Think of the Milky Way as a giant hair dryer, blowing and pushing the gas away from the LMC as it approaches.<\/p>

\r\nThis pressure caused most of the gas to be stripped away from the LMC, but it still managed to hold on to a small amount due to its high mass.<\/p>

\r\nIf it were a less massive galaxy, it would only be left with old stars with no gas left to form new ones.\r\n<\/p>

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This artist`s concept illustrates the Large Magellanic Cloud`s (LMC”s) encounter with the Milky Way galaxy`s gaseous halo. In the top panel, at the middle of the right side, the LMC begins crashing through our galaxy`s much more massive halo. The bright purple bow shock represents the leading edge of the LMC`s halo, which is being compressed as the Milky Way`s halo pushes back against the incoming LMC. In the middle panel, part of the halo is being stripped and blown back into a streaming tail of gas that eventually will rain into the Milky Way. The bottom panel shows the progression of this interaction, as the LMC`s comet-like tail becomes more defined. A compact LMC halo remains. Because the LMC is just past its closest approach to the Milky Way and is moving outward into deep space again, scientists do not expect the residual halo will be lost. Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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\r\nWhy Does This Matter”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nStudying this interaction is like having a hands-on lesson on how galaxies interact and how such events were common in the early universe, when galaxies were closer together.<\/p>

\r\nWhat`s more, Hubble was able to make these observations using ultraviolet light, something that is only possible outside of Earth, where our atmosphere does not block this type of light.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe work continues: scientists want to investigate more parts of the LMC halo, especially where it meets the Milky Way`s halo, like two balloons pressed together.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThis research is an example of how Hubble continues to help us learn more about the universe, even after so many years in operation!

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Published in 11\/18\/2024 09h46<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Portuguese version<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Original article: <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n