Astronomy Picture of the Day

The Closest Galaxy: Canis Major Dwarf


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zorg.ch
#104498 by @ 05.11.2007 00:00 - nach oben -
The Closest Galaxy: Canis Major Dwarf

Explanation: What is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way? The new answer to this old question is the Canis Major dwarf galaxy. For many years astronomers thought the Large Magellan Cloud (LMC) was closest, but its title was supplanted in 1994 by the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. Recent measurements indicate that the Canis Major dwarf is only 42,000 light years from the Galactic center, about three quarters of the distance to the Sagittarius dwarf and a quarter of the distance to the LMC. The discovery was made in data from the 2MASS-sky survey, where infrared light allows a better view through our optically opaque Galactic plane. The labeled illustration above shows the location of the newly discovered Canis Major dwarf and its associated tidal stream of material in relation to our Milky Way Galaxy. The Canis Major dwarf and other satellite galaxies are slowly being gravitationally ripped apart as they travel around and through our Galaxy.

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zorg.ch
#104603 by @ 13.11.2007 07:52, edited @ 13.11.2007 07:53 - nach oben -
wieso isch denn döt eis pünktli mit "sun" agschribe? sind nöd alles sunne susch chönnt mers nöd gseh? Kläret mich uf!
zorg.ch
#104619 by @ 13.11.2007 18:01 - nach oben -
momoll sinds natüorli, aber mit sonne oder sun meint mer amel üsi sunne, wobi ihren wohre name glaub "sol" isch. wenn mer alli lüchtibüchtis meint, seit mer scho ehner sterne oder stars.