Tag Archive for 'Smith Cloud'

This composite image shows the size and location of the Smith Cloud on the sky. The cloud is 15 degrees across in angular size - the width of an outstretched hand at arm’s length. The apparent size of the full Moon is added for comparison. The Smith Cloud appears in false-color, radio wavelengths. The visible-light image of the background star field shows the cloud’s location in the direction of the summer constellation Aquila. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Z. Levay, STScI / B. Saxton / F. Lockman / NRAO / AUI / NSF / A. Mellinger.

Astronomers Shed Light on Chemical Composition, Origin of Mysterious Smith Cloud

Jan 29, 2016 by News Staff

Scientists using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found faint chemical traces of our Milky Way Galaxy lurking inside the Smith Cloud, a gigantic...

This is an artist's impression of the Smith Cloud approaching our Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: Bill Saxton / NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Magnetically Shielded Giant Cloud to Collide with Milky Way Galaxy in 30 Million Years

Nov 1, 2013 by News Staff

Astronomers have reported the discovery of a magnetic field in the Smith Cloud, a gigantic streamer of hydrogen gas that will plunge into our Galaxy in...