Milky Way Eats Up Sagittarius

[phoebe]

Scientists have offered documentary proof of continuing cosmic cannibalism: our Milky Way galaxy is gobbling up its galactic neighbor, Sagittarius. Astronomers have mapped the Sagittarius galaxy to show in detail how its debris wraps around and passes through the Milky Way, which contains Earth.

On its way to oblivion, the dwarf Sagittarius -- which is about 10,000 times smaller in mass than Milky Way -- is getting stretched, torn apart and ultimately eaten, University of Virginia and the University of Massachusetts scientists reported. The study will be published in the Dec. 20 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

The act of cannibalism had been obscured by stars and cosmic dust, but was revealed when astronomers looked for infrared radiation coming from stars known as M giants, which are common in Sagittarius but rare in the outer reaches of the Milky Way. By focusing on these stars, the scientists said they were able to capture the totality of the Milky Way's meal, in a vision that makes it appear that our galaxy is slurping Sagittarius' stars as if they composed a stellar strand of spaghetti.

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,60604,00.html

[MrMonk]

1. Ironic. Usually the Milky Ways get eaten.

[Dookus]

2. Moving to GD...

this story is a few days old.

Thanks!

-Dookus
DU Moderator

[IrateCitizen]

3. They're predicting that Andromeda will be swallowing the Milky Way

I saw it on a special on the Discovery channel, where they were discussing a controversial but increasingly accepted theory that black holes are actually the origins of galaxies -- that they suck in so much matter until it gets so dense that the black hole finally has to go POP! Then, the black hole resumes sucking the matter back up all around it, gradually gaining back in strength until the cycle repeats itself.