Close Brush For Neighbouring Galaxies

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Neighbor galaxies may have brushed closely, astronomers find

Two of our Milky Way's neighbor galaxies may have had a close encounter billions of years ago, recent studies with the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT) indicate. The new observations confirm a disputed 2004 discovery of hydrogen gas streaming between the giant Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31, and the Triangulum Galaxy, or M33. "The properties of this gas indicate that these two galaxies may have passed close together in the distant past," said Jay Lockman, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). "Studying what may be a gaseous link between the two can give us a new key to understanding the evolution of both galaxies," he added.

The two galaxies, about 2.6 and 3 million light-years, respectively, from Earth, are members of the Local Group of galaxies that includes our own Milky Way and about 30 others.

The hydrogen "bridge" between the galaxies was discovered in 2004 by astronomers using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope in the Netherlands, but other scientists questioned the discovery on technical grounds. Detailed studies with the highly-sensitive GBT confirmed the existence of the bridge, and showed six dense clumps of gas in the stream.

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