Stream of gas between Magellanic Clouds may come from both

[Sam Wormley]

Stream of gas between Magellanic Clouds may come from both
> http://blogs.physicstoday.org/newspicks/2013/05/stream-of-gas-between-magellanic-clouds-may-come-from-both/

> The team estimated the amounts of oxygen and sulfur throughout the
> stream by measuring the absorption of UV light emitted by galaxies
> behind the gas. They found low amounts of both elements in the
> majority of gas and matched the concentrations to those present in
> the SMC 2 billion years ago. However, the section nearest the two
> Magellanic Clouds has more sulfur, in concentrations similar to those
> currently present in the LMC. What’s more, the composition of the gas
> at either end of the stream does not match that of the Milky Way. The
> discrepancy can be accounted for if the two clouds are recently
> arrived members of a local group of galaxies. If the clouds had been
> orbiting the Milky Way for a long period, the gas in the stream would
> have long been displaced by gas from the Milky Way.