New images of our neighbouring galaxy revealed

First infrared images of the Large Magellanic Cloud from the AKARI satellite - News

By Danielle Reeves
2 November 2006

Scientists analysing data from the Japanese AKARI satellite have this week revealed brand new images of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The images will provide researchers with important information on the content of the vast, dusty clouds of interstellar gas inside which new stars are formed. It is hoped that these images will provide key clues as to how galaxies evolve over time, and how stars like our Sun, are born.

The Large Magellanic Cloud lies about 160,000 light years away from our galaxy and is much smaller than the Milky Way, with about one tenth of the number of stars and one twentieth of the diameter. Scientists are particularly interested in observing the Large Magellanic Cloud because it contains a number of star-forming regions with many young stars which may still be inside their dust and gas cocoons.

The AKARI satellite is conducting an infrared All Sky Survey, and was launched in February 2006. It is the first infrared sky survey since the 1980s and has already mapped most of the sky. The images are produced by measuring infrared light emanating from distant stars, which penetrates the dust clouds and gases in space in a way that visible light cannot.

Dr David Clements , a research fellow at Imperial College London's Department of Physics who is part of the AKARI data analysis team, explains: "The AKARI All Sky Survey is providing scientists with unique data on galaxies and parts of galaxies that we can't see with normal optical  telescopes. This is the key thing about the infrared - it can see through obscuring dust and pick up light coming from sources hidden deep inside dust clouds. Since all stars start their lives in such dusty clouds, this gives us unprecedented insight into how stars, and therefore galaxies, form.

"The last similar infrared survey of the sky was completed in 1983 but astronomers still refer to it on a daily basis. These early results from AKARI show just how much of an advance the new survey is going to be – we'll be using AKARI data daily for the next 20 years!"

-Ends-