SMC tagged posts

New study shows Small Magellanic Cloud is actually Two Smaller Galaxies

Top: Intensity-weighted mean velocity map of the SMC from Pingel et al (2022). The single contour indicates an Hi column density of 15×1020⁢cm−2. The center of the SMC used in this work (defined based on the stellar populations observed by Gaia Zivick et al, 2021) is marked with a magenta cross. Spatial bins are overlaid and identified with numbers. Bottom: The average Hi brightness temperature spectra (Tb⁢(vr)) profiles from spatial bins marked at left (black). Each panel includes shaded gray envelopes denoting the 16th through 84th percentile of the Tb⁢(vr) within each spatial bin. We observe that the radial velocity structure of Hi emission features multiple, distinct velocity peaks (and typically two, dominant components). Credit: arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2312...
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Scientists discover one of the most Luminous ‘New Stars’ ever

Left: the nova system before eruption. Right: the nova system in outburst. Credit: OGLE survey

Left: the nova system before eruption. Right: the nova system in outburst.
Credit: OGLE survey

University of Leicester contributes to best-ever results on a ‘new star’ in a nearby galaxy. Astronomers have today announced that they have discovered possibly the most luminous ‘new star’ ever – a nova discovered in the direction of one of our closest neighboring galaxies: The Small Magellanic Cloud.

Astronomers used Swift satellite observatory to help understand what was likely the most luminous white dwarf eruption ever seen. A nova happens when an old star erupts dramatically back to life...

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Accretion-powered Pulsar reveals Unique Timing Glitch

Composite image of the X-ray pulsar SXP 1062 surrounded by the supernova remnant. The false-color image combines X-ray (blue) and optical data (oxygen: green, hydrogen: red). Credit: ESA / XMM-Newton / L. Oskinova, University of Potsdam, Germany / M. Guerrero, Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Spain (X-ray); Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory / R. Gruendl & Y. H. Chu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA (optical)

Composite image of the X-ray pulsar SXP 1062 surrounded by the supernova remnant. The false-color image combines X-ray (blue) and optical data (oxygen: green, hydrogen: red). Credit: ESA / XMM-Newton / L. Oskinova, University of Potsdam, Germany / M. Guerrero, Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Spain (X-ray); Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory / R. Gruendl & Y. H. Chu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA (optical)

The discovery of the largest timing irregularity yet observed in a pulsar is the first confirmation that pulsars in binary systems exhibit the strange phenomenon known as a ‘glitch’. Pulsars are one possible result of the final stages of evolution of massive stars...

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VISTA peeks through the Small Magellanic Cloud’s Dusty Veil

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) galaxy is a striking feature of the southern sky even to the unaided eye. But visible-light telescopes cannot get a really clear view of what is in the galaxy because of obscuring clouds of interstellar dust. VISTA's infrared capabilities have now allowed astronomers to see the myriad of stars in this neighbouring galaxy much more clearly than ever before. The result is this record-breaking image -- the biggest infrared image ever taken of the Small Magellanic Cloud -- with the whole frame filled with millions of stars. As well as the SMC itself this very wide-field image reveals many background galaxies and several star clusters, including the very bright 47 Tucanae globular cluster at the right of the picture. Credit: ESO/VISTA VMC

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) galaxy is a striking feature of the southern sky even to the unaided eye. But visible-light telescopes cannot get a really clear view of what is in the galaxy because of obscuring clouds of interstellar dust. VISTA’s infrared capabilities have now allowed astronomers to see the myriad of stars in this neighbouring galaxy much more clearly than ever before. The result is this record-breaking image — the biggest infrared image ever taken of the Small Magellanic Cloud — with the whole frame filled with millions of stars. As well as the SMC itself this very wide-field image reveals many background galaxies and several star clusters, including the very bright 47 Tucanae globular cluster at the right of the picture. Credit: ESO/VISTA VMC

The SMC is a dwarf galaxy...

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