Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
The SMC is a very odd shape. Is that a hint of a leftover spiral structure I see in it?
I can't imagine it formed into that irregular shape without the MWay distorting it big time.
Also all the blue stars. Is that because it has lots of new hot stars?
Greg.
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Regarding the shape of the SMC,
this article may explain it?
namely:
"
In looking at this data, the team also observed that all the stars within the Wing—that southeast part of the SMC—are moving in a similar direction and speed. This demonstrates the SMC and LMC likely had a collision a few hundred million years ago."
There are several reasons for the prominent blue/teal/cyan in my image..
1) There
are a lot of blue giants and plenty of star birth going on!(Great article
here)
2) I added OIII to the mix which imparts a slight teal-cyan hue
3) I just like the look with the blue/cyan/teal turned up a little
While I have certainly favoured the blue for my own aesthetic preferences, there is no doubt the SMC
is indeed rather blue see:
Gendler and
Gendler et al (multiple scopes, including DSS data) and
Lorenzi
Hope that was helpful Greg
Mike