Magellanic Clouds May Be Just Passing Through
Astronomers measuring the 3-D velocities of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) have found surprisingly high speeds, which may indicate that the Magellanic Clouds are not gravitationally bound to the Milky Way but instead are "just passing through" the neighborhood.
Comments:
Welll, can we hang on here a second? Some recent squibs on this site have hit my funnybone, and those of others. This time I think we have a serious attempt underway to learn the 3D velocities of the LMC and SMC, which might just end up telling us something big and new about the mass, relative power & ultimate survivability of our own galaxy. Pretty big thoughts, perhaps, for our brief lifespan. I'm staying tuned. Joe Godfrey :S
