milky way, mysteries, new discoveries, satellite galaxies

Unraveling the Mystery of the Milky Way’s Satellite Galaxies

Astronomers say they have solved an outstanding problem that challenged our understanding of how the universe evolved — the spatial distribution of faint satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. These satellite galaxies exhibit a bizarre alignment — they seem to lie on an enormous thin rotating plane — called the “plane of satellites.” This seemingly ...

Troy Oakes

The Milky Way Galaxy over the ocean.

Confirmed Collision Between 2 Milky Way Satellite Galaxies

If you’re standing in the Southern Hemisphere on a clear night, you can see two luminous clouds offset from the Milky Way. These clouds of stars are satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, called the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Large Magellanic Cloud, or SMC and LMC. Using newly released data from a new, powerful ...

Troy Oakes

A collision between two Milky Way satellite galaxies.