Quote:
Originally Posted by Chippy
And there definitely are strings between the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. I remember reading about it last year. I think they're known as the "Magellanic strings" but I could be wrong. I suspect there are probably strings to M31 as well, although I haven't actually read of that.
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Tracked down your info.
It's called the Magellanic Bridge and is a stream of neutral HI hydrogen with some stars linking the SMC and LMC. There is also a Magellanic Stream of HI gas linked to the SMC and LMC. Some twisting of the filaments may indicate that the Magellanic Clouds are tumbling about one another on their way into the halo of the Milky Way.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap980826.html
Again illustrates the complex relationship between gravitational forces and the formation (and destruction) of stars and galaxies.
Regards, Rob.