The Fate of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy
In 1994, astronomers in Cambridge University discovered a dwarf galaxy,
located in the direction of the constelltaion of Sagittarius, whose morphology
appeared to be severely distorted. This is a picture (created with the
help of Chris Mihos) of how this distortion might have occured. The dwarf
galaxy, initially a ball of stars (at the top of the picture), falls towards
the Milky Way along the dashed line and is torn apart by immense tidal
forces. The stars ripped from the dwarf spread out in long streamers along
its path. Click here for links to an animation of
a similar simulation.
Kathryn V. Johnston