A starry night, but in another galaxy ✨
Fly over the Magellanic Clouds, two galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, and discover a new stellar landscape — completely different from the one we see in our sky here on Earth.
1/2
📹 ESO/M. R. Cioni et al., VMC Survey, P. Horálek, Zdeněk Bardon, N. Risinger
🎵 Mylonite – Composition 129
These images were captured by our Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA).
Astronomers used it to take very deep infrared images of the cores of these galaxies, allowing us to better understand their 3D shapes and motion.
Learn more: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2637a/
2/2
📷 ESO/M.-R. Cioni et al.
@esoastronomy what would our galaxy look like, watching it from the distance of the magellan cloud?
@Reinald It wouldn't look edge-on as it does from the Solar System, we would get a very good view of its real shape, although not fully face-on. Its actual size on the sky would depend on various assumptions, as it doesn't have a sharp "edge". But you would be able to cover most of it with a fully spread hand at arm's length.
@esoastronomy so, that would be around 10°, or about 20 full moon sizes?
@Reinald More like ~30º
@esoastronomy wow - that would be an impressive view.