Hubble Measures Content of the Leading Arm of the Magellanic Stream

Stsci_2018-15a_1024

stsci_2018-15a March 22nd, 2018

Credit: Illustration: D. Nidever et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF and A. Mellinger, Leiden-Argentine-Bonn (LAB) Survey, Parkes Observatory, Westerbork Observatory, Arecibo Observatory, and A. Feild (STScI)Science: NASA, ESA, and A. Fox (STScI)

This is a photo mosaic of an edge-on view of the Milky Way galaxy, looking toward the central bulge. Superimposed on it are radio-telescope images, colored pink, of the stretched, arc-shaped Magellanic Stream below the plane of the galaxy and the shredded, fragmented Leading Arm crossing the galaxy's plane and extending above it. These gas clouds are being gravitationally pulled apart like taffy from the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds - satellite galaxies to our Milky Way - which appear as bright clumps within the gas. The source of the ribbon-like Magellanic Stream was uncovered by the Hubble Space Telescope about five years ago, and it was found to come from both Magellanic Clouds. However, the source of the Leading Arm remained a mystery until today. Now, scientists have used Hubble's ultraviolet vision to chemically analyze the gas in the Leading Arm and determine its origin. Because they could not directly sample it, they instead used the light from seven quasars - the bright cores of active galaxies - to measure how it filtered through the Leading Arm's gas. These quasars reside billions of light-years beyond the Leading Arm and act as "lighthouses" shining through the gas.Scientists looked for the absorption of the quasars' ultraviolet light by oxygen in the cloud. This is a good indication of how many heavier elements reside in the Leading Arm's gas. The team then compared Hubble's measurements to hydrogen measurements made by the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia, as well as several other radio telescopes. Marked locations indicate the three brightest of the seven quasars used to study the composition of the Leading Arm. Spectra for these three quasars are superimposed at the bottom of the graphic. The vertical axis of each spectrum indicates how much absorption is taking place. The more absorption, the greater the signal strength is. The horizontal axes indicate the velocities of the gas at different points. Blue boxes is

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2018/news-2018-15

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

Image Use Policy: http://hubblesite.org/copyright/

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Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Artwork
Object Name
Magellanic Stream
Subject - Milky Way
Galaxy > Component > Spiral Arm

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 17h 45m 40.0s
DEC = -29° 0’ 28.2”
Constellation
Sagittarius
Stsci_2018-15a_1280
×
ID
2018-15a
Subject Category
B.5.4.7  
Subject Name
Magellanic Stream
Credits
Illustration: D. Nidever et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF and A. Mellinger, Leiden-Argentine-Bonn (LAB) Survey, Parkes Observatory, Westerbork Observatory, Arecibo Observatory, and A. Feild (STScI)Science: NASA, ESA, and A. Fox (STScI)
Release Date
2018-03-22T00:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2018/news-2018-15
Type
Artwork
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Instrument
Color Assignment
Band
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
Reference Value
266.41681662, -29.00782497
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
Position
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
STScI
URL
http://hubblesite.org
Name
Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach
Email
outreach@stsci.edu
Telephone
410-338-4444
Address
3700 San Martin Drive
City
Baltimore
State/Province
MD
Postal Code
21218
Country
USA
Rights
http://hubblesite.org/copyright/
Publisher
STScI
Publisher ID
stsci
Resource ID
STSCI-H-p1815a-f-3000x2400.tif
Metadata Date
2021-12-14T10:35:44-05:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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