Magellanic Clouds

The two Magellanic clouds are in the gravitational sway of the much larger Milky Way and are on course to pass through it in the future.

Described as "intermediate mass helium stars stripped through binary interaction," the scientists found 25 stars that fit the profile located in two neighboring galaxies, the Large and the Small Magellanic Clouds.

Using data from the Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope, the researchers collected brightnesses for millions of stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two of the closest galaxies to Earth.

Ludwig developed the first wide-field UV catalog of the Magellanic Clouds and used UV photometry to detect systems with unusual UV emissions, signaling the possible presence of a stripped star.

The stars are located in two well-studied neighboring galaxies, the Large and the Small Magellanic Clouds.