Astronomers Find Nearest Galaxy To The Milky Way [View All]

[Shyriath]

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/spaceart-03g.html

An international team of astronomers from France, Italy, the UK and Australia has found a previously unknown galaxy colliding with our own Milky Way.

This newly-discovered galaxy takes the record for the nearest galaxy to the centre of the Milky Way. Called the Canis Major dwarf galaxy after the constellation in which it lies, it is about 25000 light years away from thesolar system and 42000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way.

This is closer than the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, discovered in 1994, which is also colliding with the Milky Way. The discovery shows that the Milky Way is building up its own disk by absorbing small satellite galaxies. The research is to be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society within the next few weeks.

Which proves, once again, that the Universe is filled with wonders even in our own cosmic neighborhood (and that the Milky Way cannot drive worth a damn).