{"id":1352,"date":"2014-12-10T19:58:20","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T19:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.austrinus.com\/?p=1352"},"modified":"2022-11-21T20:26:49","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T23:26:49","slug":"somos-de-via-lactea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/en\/somos-de-via-lactea\/","title":{"rendered":"Are we from the Milky Way?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00abThe Earth does not belong to this galaxy\u2026\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Recently, a news item appeared in the media that seemed suspicious to me from the start. An astronomical study concluding that our planet does not come from the Milky Way (although in some versions it says that it simply is not in it), but is part of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, until then totally unknown to the public not familiar with these subjects; the implications of this apparent discovery range from having solved the "great" mystery of the inclination with which we see the Milky Way at night, the explanation of global warming, the end of the Mayan calendar and some other apocalyptic nonsense. Here is an excerpt:<\/p>\n

Pseudoscience says...<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A group of American astronomers has discovered that the Milky Way is consuming a much smaller neighboring galaxy, called Sagittarius. Our Solar System is precisely located in one of the regions where both galaxies are intersecting, and for this reason we can conclude that our planet comes from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, and is not native to the Milky Way. This also explains the reason for the angle of inclination with which we see the Milky Way at night.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Science says...<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This is a clear example of how the press skips basic steps in publishing a news story, and how it distorts information so that the result is much more "shocking." First, let's review the true facts of this story:\u00a0Sagittarius dwarf elliptical galaxy<\/strong>, either\u00a0SagDEG<\/strong>\u00a0(Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy<\/em>), is a small component of the so-called Local Group, a set of around 30 relatively close galaxies that includes the Milky Way. Due to its small size and the interstellar dust that prevents us from directly observing the center of the Milky Way, SagDEG is practically imperceptible to the human eye.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
View of the Milky Way. The irregular shape under the galactic center shows SagDEG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Only through observations in infrared<\/strong>, capable of penetrating interstellar dust, astronomers have been able to determine the location and morphology of this galaxy, which turned out to be a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way and even closer than the Magellanic Clouds. Observations after 2003 would reveal that\u00a0SagDEG<\/strong>\u00a0had suffered the consequences of its proximity: the Milky Way was slowly "devouring" it. So far, the story makes sense. SagDEG is a small member of the Local Group, very close to the Milky Way, but succumbing to the latter's gravitational force, its stars are dragged along to end up joining it and SagDEG disappears as an individual galaxy.<\/p>\n

A misinterpreted discovery<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was precisely this discovery, made in 2003 by a group of astronomers from the University of Virginia, that gave rise to the misrepresentations and that (for some reason) appeared as fake news in mid-2007. It is very likely that the confusion arose when it was noted, in the 2003 study, that a part of the SagDEG structure merging with the Milky Way was quite close to our Solar System, almost "in its path" so to speak.<\/p>\n

To illustrate this, the following graph shows how SagDEG is being devoured by the Milky Way and the position of the Sun very close to the "watering hole" of stars. The conclusions of the study mainly indicated the "cannibalism" that the Milky Way is carrying out with respect to SagDEG, but below I quote an extract translated from the\u00a0original news<\/a><\/strong>, where statements by Professor Steven Majewski, one of the members of the group of astronomers at the University of Virginia, are mentioned:<\/p>\n

\"\"
Position of the Milky Way and SagDEG being devoured by it, along with the position of the Sun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00abOn the other hand, Majewski and his colleagues have been surprised by the proximity of the Earth to a portion of the structure of (the dwarf galaxy) Sagittarius.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

'In just a few percent of its 240-million-year orbit around the Milky Way, our Solar System passes through the trail left by the Sagittarius structure,' Majewski says. 'Remarkably, stars from Sagittarius are now showering us into our present position in the Milky Way. Stars from an alien galaxy are relatively close to us. We will have to rethink our assumptions about the Milky Way in light of this pollution.'<\/em><\/p>\n

This point is key. According to Majewski's statements, at no point is it being questioned that our Solar System originated in the Milky Way, and that it instead comes from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy; even less is there any mention of having solved the "mystery" of the inclination of the Milky Way as seen from Earth. Allusion was only made to the curious coincidence that our Solar System is located close to the trail left by SagDEG in its process of fusion with the Milky Way, and to the fact that relatively nearby stars could actually belong to SagDEG.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And how do we know that we are originally from the Milky Way?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Position of the Milky Way and SagDEG being devoured by it, along with the position of the Sun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The map of the Milky Way<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Despite the astonishing coincidence that shows the Sun very close to the intersection of stars \u00abvialacteanas<\/em>" and "sagittarians<\/em>"It has been proven that the movement of the Sun actually describes an orbit that is in the plane of the Milky Way, obeying the movement of the rest of the stars.\u00a0vialacteanas<\/em>, instead of moving at the steep angle described by the stars coming from SagDEG.<\/p>\n

Stellar chemical composition<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Studies in relation to SagDEG have shown a very low amount of iron in its stars, unlike the stars of the Milky Way, which rather distribute a greater or lesser amount of iron evenly. Because the Sun has an average amount of this metal, statistically our star has chemical properties that make it a typical and common prototype of the Milky Way, instead of an exotic and very rare specimen for SagDEG.<\/p>\n

So why do we see the Milky Way tilted?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no "great mystery" about this point, as the fake news versions have tried to instill. We see the Milky Way tilted for two main reasons:\u00a01)\u00a0<\/strong>Because the Earth's axis of rotation is inclined at about 23\u00b0 1\/2 with respect to the ecliptic<\/strong>, and\u00a02)<\/strong>\u00a0Because the plan of the Solar System<\/strong>\u00a0(That is, the imaginary plane through which planets, satellites and other objects move around our star.<\/em>)\u00a0in turn, it is inclined about ~60\u00b0 with respect to the plane of the Milky Way<\/strong>. This last fact is not of major scientific interest, since this inclination is rather related to the processes that occurred during the formation of our star from a cloud of dust and gas; Meanwhile, the reason for the inclination of the Earth's axis is unknown, but it is thought that a strong impact with another object could have caused it, during the beginnings of the Solar System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Inclination of the Earth's axis in relation to the ecliptic.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"\"
Inclination of the plane of the Solar System with respect to the plane of the Milky Way<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

The (ir)responsibility of the press<\/strong><\/p>\n

I must mention that a series of factors that could have been avoided have come together in this false news. First of all, the\u00a0irresponsibility\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0misinterpretation of information<\/strong>; probably few know that the news that originated this myth did not contain any hint of doubt about the origin of the Solar System, and if now (4 years later) it is presented to us as such, this highlights the misinterpretation that is generally made of it. astronomical news. Secondly, the\u00a0verification of information sources<\/strong>; I have been able to verify that in places like\u00a0The Mercury<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Chili),\u00a020 minutes<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Spain) and\u00a0The universal<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Mexico), some data differ (probably as a result of copying, pasting and rumoring the fake news), but in all of them the authorship is attributed to astronomers from the University of Virginia. Well, precisely the link to said university that supposedly validates the study, shows a great WARNING to the reader (although it is especially aimed at journalists) regarding the falsity of the news. On the same page you are encouraged to visit a\u00a0demystification article<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(very similar to the one you are reading now!) from the excellent website\u00a0Bad Astronomy<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Website with the original news about the Milky Way devouring the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (2003)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Screenshot of the University of Virginia website, with a warning refuting the fake news.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Something is missing? Oh yes, that our supposed Sagittarian origin would be the cause of global warming and the end of the Mayan calendar. Eh... well... it's up to your common sense.<\/p>\n

And so as not to be left empty-handed...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"But while I have argued in this article that our Solar System is still "Vialactean", serious studies of SagDEG show that there is probably a striking extragalactic object:\u00a0the globular cluster M54<\/strong>, which has been found to recede at the same speed as the components of SagDEG, and possibly to be at the same distance. Informed speculation would indicate that M54\u00a0It could be the core of this dwarf galaxy, or a remnant of its core!<\/em><\/p>\n

For more information about the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (and M54!), I recommend visiting the following links (in English):<\/p>\n

The Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy, SagDEG<\/a>
\nInvading Galaxy Apparently Contains Much Unseen Matter (R. Wyse, 1998)<\/a>
\nIs M54 the nucleus of the Sagittarius galaxy? (Bassino, LP; Muzzio, JC)<\/a>
\nMessier Object 54<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00abThe Earth does not belong to this galaxy\u2026\u00bb Recently, a news item appeared in the media that seemed suspicious to me from the very beginning. An astronomical study concluded that our planet does not come from the Milky Way (although in some versions it says that it simply is not in it), but that it is part of the Milky Way.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-desmitificacion"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-150x150.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-300x200.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-768x512.jpg","large":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-1024x683.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"Farid","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57e8aa07b0d16e13c8408ea413c009fc7da05f4cbb36da0d568b4235b1eaee6b?s=96&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":false,"magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"\u00abLa Tierra no pertenece a esta galaxia…\u00bb Recientemente ha aparecido en los medios de comunicaci\u00f3n una noticia que desde el primer momento me pareci\u00f3 sospechosa. Un estudio astron\u00f3mico concluyendo que nuestro planeta no proviene de la V\u00eda L\u00e1ctea (aunque en algunas versiones dice que simplemente no est\u00e1 en ella), sino que forma parte de la…","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Desmitificaci\u00f3n"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":3093,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":10,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner.jpg",1200,800,false],"medium":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-150x150.jpg",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"Farid","author_link":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/en\/author\/farid\/"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/57e8aa07b0d16e13c8408ea413c009fc7da05f4cbb36da0d568b4235b1eaee6b?s=96&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"Desmitificaci\u00f3n<\/a>","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-768x512.jpg",640,427,true],"large":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner-1024x683.jpg",640,427,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner.jpg",1200,800,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/austrinus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/somos-de-vialactea-banner.jpg",18,12,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Farid","author_link":"https:\/\/austrinus.com\/en\/author\/farid\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"\u00abLa Tierra no pertenece a esta galaxia…\u00bb Recientemente ha aparecido en los medios de comunicaci\u00f3n una noticia que desde el primer momento me pareci\u00f3 sospechosa. 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