So...what if the Magellanic clouds/ Magellanic Stream are really an unrecognized Arm of Milky Way

phys.org...

so i was reading an article on the SMASH observations of the MC and they are much much much larger than we thought. Additionally; there is a stream of stellar material connecting the two Magellanic Clouds and extending out behind and in front of them as well as connecting them to the milky way. so i am imagining in my mind looking out from earth from the Sag arm to Perseus is a vast vast distance. we cannot see a lot of the stuff in our own arm let alone the next arm over. so looking out there would be a point where the bulk of material in a even more distant part of the milky way would be obscured or invisible to us.

what if there were another arm out there, mostly invisible; but the magellanic clouds being a lump that extended closer to us or of unusual luminosity so the fact that there was an arm there was not apparent to us? (there is a mostly diffuse arm there but the MC and stream are the bits of it we can see.)

They are still called "clouds", lol. They are clouds, clouds of stars. Or galaxies or whachamacall it.

Moving goal posts…

a reply to: stormbringer1701

f&s for an interesting idea. Has anyone suggested this before? If not, and if it ever is proved to be true (probably not but who knows?), nice theory.

Doubtful.

First, data is suggesting that they are moving too fast to stay with the Milky Way.

Second: the majority of the stars in both the LMC and SMC are very metal poor compared to the stars of the Milky Way.

originally posted by: eriktheawful
Doubtful.

First, data is suggesting that they are moving too fast to stay with the Milky Way.

Second: the majority of the stars in both the LMC and SMC are very metal poor compared to the stars of the Milky Way.

that would be good evidence for the null of my thought. unless alternate explanations for why that would be are provided.

and now this: phys.org...

a reply to: stormbringer1701

I don't think it's related to the LMC and SMC.

However, I think it would make a great thread for you to do though!