Scientists have used UV spectroscopic observations of quasars to discover and map the Corona Magellanic, a diffuse halo of hot, charged gas surrounding the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. Shown in purple, the halo extends more than 100,000 light-years from the main mass of stars, gas and dust that make up the Magellanic Clouds and intersects with the hotter, more extended halo surrounding the Milky Way. Image credits: NASA, ESA, Leah Hostak (STScI)
Researchers confirm the existence of the elusive Magellanic corona, a protective corona of hot ionized gas previously only known in theory.
for billions of years[{” attribute=””>Milky Way’s most massive cosmic companions – the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds – have been on a tumultuous journey through space, orbiting one another while being torn by the gravitational pull of our own galaxy.
Recent theoretical predictions indicate that these dwarf satellite galaxies must be protected by a pervasive shield that prevents the Milky Way from removing their essential star-forming gas. This so-called Magellanic Corona, made of supercharged gas with temperatures of half a million degrees, would act as a sort of cosmic crash zone around the Magellanic Clouds, keeping the disk and stars relatively unscathed during collisions. Even though simulations show that the Magellanic Corona should exist, observational evidence has remained elusive.
Using a combination of the unique ultraviolet vision of the 
Nearly 200,000 light-years from Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, floats in space, in a long and slow dance around our galaxy. As the Milky Way’s gravity gently tugs on its neighbor’s gas clouds, they collapse to form new stars. In turn, these light up the gas clouds in a kaleidoscope of colors, visible in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, Acknowledgment: Josh Lake
For billions of years, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds – the Milky Way’s largest satellite galaxies – have followed a perilous journey. Orbiting one another as they are pulled in toward our home galaxy, they have begun to unravel, leaving behind trails of gaseous debris. And yet these dwarf galaxies remain intact, with ongoing vigorous star formation, leaving astronomers baffled.
“A lot of people were struggling to explain how these streams of material could be there,” said Dhanesh Krishnarao, assistant professor at Colorado College. “If this gas was removed from these galaxies, how are they still forming stars?”
A team of astronomers led by Krishnarao has finally found the answer, with the help of data from
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