Stars' Clockwork Motion in Nearby Galaxy

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Hubble Watches Stars' Clockwork Motion in Nearby Galaxy

Using the sharp-eyed NASA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have for the first time precisely measured the rotation rate of a galaxy based on the clock-like movement of its stars.

According to their analysis, the central part of the neighboring galaxy, called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), completes a rotation every 250 million years. Coincidentally, it takes our Sun the same amount of time to complete a rotation around the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Source

[+OverSword]

According to their analysis, the central part of the neighboring galaxy, called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), completes a rotation every 250 million years. Coincidentally, it takes our Sun the same amount of time to complete a rotation around the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

That's one huge coincedence. I wonder if there is some force other than coincidence determining this? Time will tell.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

That's one huge coincedence. I wonder if there is some force other than coincidence determining this? Time will tell.

What is so huge about it? Two things out of countless billions take roughly the same time to rotate... so what?

They are not even comparable parts of the two galaxies. The LMC measurement is of the central region, the sun is two thirds of the way out. Stars orbit the Milky Way with roughly the same velocity, about 200km/s, so the further out they are the longer they take to orbit. Pick a star close to the centre of the milky Way and it will take a far shorter time to orbit. So 250 million years has absolutely no significance to stars in the Milky Way apart from the fact that it happens to be the time OUR star takes to rotate around the centre.

Sorry, but when the people at the Hubble Site used the word coincidence they knew what they were talking about.