Gas cloud could trigger the creation of 200 million new stars

[josephpalazzo]

A giant gas cloud hurtling towards the Milky Way could form two million new stars when it finally collides with our galaxy.


The discovery was made after astronomers managed to figure out the chemical composition of the Smith Cloud, a huge cloud of gas which is approaching the edges of the Milky Way at a [size=100%]speed[/size] of around 193 miles per second.


The Smith Cloud has been on science's radar since it was discovered in 1963, but its origins and chemical makeup were a mystery for a long time. Some thought that the cloud could be a starless galaxy or just a giant body of gas, falling in to the Milky Way from intergalactic space.


However, by observing the cloud with the Hubble Space Telescope, a team of scientists from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, [size=100%]led[/size] by Dr Nicolas Lehner, have determined the that cloud is made up of elements also found in the Sun - revealing that it originated in the outer limits of the Milky Way, but was somehow ejected into space around 70 million years ago.


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No one yet knows how the Smith Cloud was spat out into space, but it's on its way back. In around 30 million years, the cloud will collide with the galaxy - a long time in human years, but a relatively short period in cosmic terms.


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When the cloud does make its way back into the Milky Way, astronomers believe it will trigger a huge star formation event. The Smith Cloud is around 9,800 light years long (or around 58 quadrillion miles), so it contains enough matter to generate over two million new stars in the galaxy.

Read the whole article at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/smith-cloud-milky-way-galaxy-return-star-formation-notre-dame-a6841241.html

[stromboli]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvwH8Qij0JY