Space is so huge that we can’t even imagine its size. Since the Universe is constantly expanding, astronomers cannot determine the exact number of galaxies – we still don’t know all the corners of space. Scientists estimate that the visible Universe contains between 100 and 200 billion galaxies. And these numbers are mind-boggling. Despite the unimaginable size of the Universe, astronomers often look at the same part of space. The legendary Hubble telescope and the James Webb Observatory, launched in 2021, spend most of their time aimed at the Magellanic Clouds. These mini-galaxies are located right around our Milky Way and are of great interest to scientists. What’s so special about them? Why do we study them if there is so much unexplored space around?
The Magellanic Clouds may reveal more about the structure of the Universe than it seems. Photo source: mirax.space
What are the Magellanic Clouds
As paradoxical as it may sound, scientists can learn much more by studying just one point in space than by studying the entire cosmos at once. By looking at the Magellanic Clouds with the most powerful telescopes of our time, astronomers are gradually learning how galaxies interact with each other. They can see with their own eyes how they swirl gas and dust around each other, how they change shape, and how they exchange entire stars with each other. In addition to all this, scientists can observe how stars are formed.
Hubble (left) and James Webb (right). Image source: znanierussia.ru
The Magellanic Clouds are two galaxies. The first is called the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the second is called the Small Magellanic Cloud. Compared to other galaxies, they are small. The distance from the Milky Way to the Magellanic Clouds is about 150,000 light years. They may seem very far away, but they are actually not far. For comparison, our nearest neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, is located 2.6 million light years away.
The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Image source: mirax.space
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Studying the Magellanic Clouds
The Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are intertwined. Between them is the Magellanic Bridge, a stream of neutral hydrogen gas that connects the two small galaxies. There is also a Magellanic Stream that connects the Magellanic Clouds to our Milky Way galaxy. The presence of the bridge and the stream proves that giant galaxies like the Milky Way suck material out of smaller galaxies like the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. This happens under the influence of gravity.
The Magellanic Bridge between the Magellanic Clouds. Image source: dzen.ru
New stars are born from clouds of gas and dust. The Magellanic Clouds are particularly active centers of star formation. By looking at these processes, astronomers understand how the raw materials for star formation move through space.
Thanks to the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, we know how stars form. Image source: grazia.ru
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The evolution of space telescopes
The Magellanic Clouds are being observed by several powerful space observatories from different angles. To understand why this is necessary, imagine that you need to understand from a great distance how a sculptor created a figure from stone. To do this, you need to look at the creation process from the outside from different angles – there is no other way.
The Magellanic Clouds are periodically observed by almost all telescopes in the world. Photo source: wikipedia.org
Scientists will be observing the Magellanic Clouds for many years to come, and during this time, dozens of generations of astronomers may change. Every decade, more and more powerful telescopes appear, both on the ground and in space. Thanks to their optical capabilities, scientists can notice what was previously invisible. Today we see much more than, say, twenty years ago. In addition, on a galactic scale, all processes are very slow, and it takes a long time to notice changes.
We don’t even suspect what else we have to discover in space. Photo source: mir24.tv
Researchers are monitoring the two mini-galaxies so closely that a recent project to study them was named “Yes, the Magellanic Clouds Again.” As part of this project, scientists managed to discover several old stars that were previously invisible using modern telescopes. In the future, astronomers will take photographs of the Magellanic Clouds using even more powerful equipment. And then we will learn even more new information about the formation of stars and other processes occurring in space.
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But scientists do not forget about other galaxies either. For example, they are watching the huge Andromeda galaxy with interest. It is believed that in billions of years it will collide with our Milky Way galaxy. But recently there was an assumption that this may not happen.