The Sagittarius Dwarf Tidal Stream
Explanation:
Is our Milky Way Galaxy out to lunch?
Recent
wide field images and analyses now indicate that our
home galaxy
is actually still in the process of devouring one of its closer
satellite neighbors.
This unfortunate
neighbor, the
Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy, is now seen to be part of a larger
Sagittarius Tidal Stream,
a loose filament of stars, gas, and possibly dark matter
that entangles the
Milky Way.
An artist's depiction of the stream is shown above.
Speculation also holds that the
Sagittarius Dwarf was once pulled through the
Milky Way disk very close to our
Sun's current location.
An important resulting realization is that
galaxies
contain a jumble of clumps and
filaments of both
dim and
dark matter.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
