Mini Magellanic Cloud (MMC)
It has been proposed by astrophysicists D. S. Mathewson, V. L. Ford and N. Visvanathan that the SMC may in fact be split in two, with a smaller section of this galaxy behind the main part of the SMC (as seen from our perspective), and separated by about 30,000 ly. They suggest the reason for this is due to a past interaction with the LMC splitting the SMC, and that the two sections are still moving apart. They have dubbed this smaller remnant the Mini Magellanic Cloud.
Read more about this topic: Magellanic Clouds
Famous quotes containing the word cloud:
“Sometimes we see a cloud that’s dragonish,
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A towered citadel, a pendant rock,
A forked mountain, or blue promontory
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And mock our eyes with air. Thou hast seen these signs;
They are black vesper’s pageants.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)