Nearest Galaxy Ripped from Another, Study Suggests

The Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, our closest neighbor at just 75,000 light-years away, was only found in 1994. The density of stars in our Milky Way can obscure astronomers’ views of the satellite galaxies, making it harder to study some regions the local universe than to examine much more distant groups of stars that exist along clear lines of sight.

Since the discovery of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, researchers have noticed that some of its younger stars are strikingly similar to stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, another satellite galaxy that sits just a bit further out in space.

Now a study led by Patrick Cseresnjes of the Paris Observatory shows strong similarities in a certain class of old stars seen in both of these satellite galaxies. Cseresnjes thinks the evidence may point to a common ancestor, a larger galaxy that was ripped apart to form both the Large Magellanic Cloud and the nearer Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, or Sgr as astronomers call it. space.com via Yahoo!