(ORDO NEWS) — The mesmerizing image, taken by researchers at Australian National University and Australian National Science Agency CSIRO, shows one of the Milky Way’s closest galactic neighbors in unprecedented detail.
The new study’s lead author, Dr Nickolas Pingel, says the image provides the most detailed map of hydrogen distribution in the Small Magellanic Cloud.
“The clarity of this image is beyond competition!” He said.
“For the first time, we were able to see all the small-scale structures. This study was an important step towards understanding the role of hydrogen in the evolution of galaxies.
For example, we can see cavities in a gas cloud. This means that hydrogen is blown out by supernova explosions.
This study focuses on observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud, the closest satellite galaxy to the Milky Way.
The team used the ASKAP CSIRO radio telescope and state-of-the-art software for capturing and processing data obtained from observations over 100 hours.
Scientists now hope to take it one step further.
“Over the next year, we plan to conduct new observations. Ultimately we will be able to combine them into a giant mosaic that will show us how our galaxy is connected to its nearest galactic satellites.
The research was published on the arxiv.org preprint server.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.