Researchers Claim That Our Galaxy’s Closest Neighbor Is Being Torn Apart, Make a ‘Surprising’ Discovery

In the wide and mysterious spread of the cosmos, there’s always something that's happening. For astronomers, these happenings offer deep insights into how galaxies grow, evolve, and sometimes unravel. Among the Milky Way’s nearest companions, two stand out in this gravitational drama—the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. Long known as a dynamic duo circling our galaxy, recent revelations are now pushing our perception a whole 180 degrees, as reported by Phys.Org.

A new study led by Satoya Nakano and Kengo Tachihara from Nagoya University has delivered a stellar update— the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), one of the Milky Way’s closest neighbors, appears to be in the process of being torn apart. Published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, this research reveals, "When we first got this result, we suspected that there might be an error in our method of analysis…However, upon closer examination, the results are indisputable, and we were surprised," stated Live Science.

By analyzing data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, the team was able to track the movement of nearly 7,000 massive stars within the SMC—each more than eight times the mass of our Sun. These stars, often short-lived and destined to explode as supernovae, serve as prominent pinpoints. Intriguingly, what the experts found was stunning—the stars on opposite ends of the SMC are moving in divergent directions. Tachihara noted, "The stars in the SMC were moving in opposite directions on either side of the galaxy, as though they are being pulled apart…Some of these stars are approaching the LMC, while others are moving away from it, suggesting the gravitational influence of the larger galaxy. This unexpected movement supports the hypothesis that the SMC is being disrupted by the LMC, leading to its gradual destruction," stated Phys.Org.

As if this was not enough, the study found no solid proof of rotational motion in the SMC’s massive stars or interstellar gas—something typically expected in a stable galaxy. For instance, in the Milky Way, stars and gas rotate together around the galactic center. But in the SMC, the absence of this rotation indicates a more chaotic internal structure, possibly caused by gravitational disruptions. Nakano remarked, "If the SMC is indeed not rotating, previous estimates of its mass and its interaction history with the Milky Way and LMC might need to be revised…This could potentially change our understanding of the history of the three-body interaction between the two Magellanic Clouds and the Milky Way," stated Phys.Org.

This discovery has broader implications. Understanding its current turmoil might illuminate how primitive galaxies behaved billions of years ago. Tachihara exclaimed, "We are unable to get a 'bird's-eye view' of the galaxy in which we live…As a result, the SMC and the LMC are the only galaxies in which we can observe the details of stellar motion. This research is important because it allows us to study the process of star formation in connection with the motion of stars throughout the galaxy," stated Live Science.