A massive galactic collision millions of years ago is still reshaping our neighboring stars
A violent collision between the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds millions of years ago left the smaller galaxy in a state of chaotic transformation that astronomers are only now beginning to understand.
The Small Magellanic Cloud was once thought to be a standard rotating dwarf galaxy, but recent data from the Gaia satellite has revealed a much more turbulent reality. Millions of years ago, a massive collision with the Large Magellanic Cloud injected immense kinetic energy into the system, scattering stars into disorganized patterns. What astronomers previously mistook for steady rotation was actually a visual illusion caused by the galaxy being stretched along our line of sight.
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