Evolution.jpeg (IMAGE)

Durham University

Evolution.jpeg

Caption

Positions and orbits of the 11 classical satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, projected “face-on” (top) and “edge-on” (bottom), integrated for 1 billion years into the past and future. The right panels are a zoom-in of the left panels. The black dot marks the centre of the Milky Way, arrows mark the observed positions and the directions of travel of the satellites. While they currently line up in a plane (indicated by the grey horizontal line), that plane quickly dissolves as the satellites move along their orbits.

Credit

Till Sawala / Sibelius collaboration

Usage Restrictions

Credit must be given to the creator.

License

CC BY

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