Magellanic Clouds tagged posts

An international team of astronomers, led by researchers from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw, have identified a new class of cosmic X-ray sources. The findings have been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Most people encounter X-rays during medical visits where they are used to create images of bones or diagnose lung conditions. These X-rays are generated using artificial sources.

However, not everyone knows that celestial objects can also emit X-ray radiation. “Some cosmic phenomena produce X-rays naturally,” explains Dr. Przemek Mróz, the lead author of the study. “For example, X-rays may be produced by a hot gas falling onto compact objects like white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes...

After slowly forming stars for the first few billion years of their lives, the Magellanic Clouds, near neighbors of our own Milky Way galaxy, have upped their game and are now forming new stars at a fast clip. This new insight into the history of the Clouds comes from the first detailed chemical maps made of galaxies beyond the Milky Way.

Named for explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who led the first European expedition to circumnavigate the globe, the Large and Small ...