Collaborative Research: Survey of the Magellanic Stellar History

研究人员正在领导“麦哲伦星系历史调查”（SMASH），这是一个观察两个在南半球可见的附近矮星系的项目。 这些矮星系被称为大麦哲伦云和小麦哲伦云（LMC和SMC），是一个独特的本地实验室，用于研究星系的形成和演化。研究人员的目标是观察这些星系中星星形成时留下的碎片。 通过这些观测，他们将了解这些矮星系的形成历史，并确定这些星系与我们的银河系发生了什么类型的相互作用。研究人员正在与Zooniverse团队合作，该团队将研究科学家与希望帮助研究的普通公众志愿者联系起来。 该团队将使用基于网络的工具，以允许非专家将恒星分为不同类别的方式组织数据。 Zooniverse软件工具帮助研究人员取得进展，同时使志愿者的过程变得愉快。十年前，麦哲伦星云的相互作用历史被认为是很好的理解，只有一些小细节有待解释。然而，在过去的十年中，一些重要的发现提出了关于其结构和过去历史的新问题。 观测结果表明，LMC-SMC相互作用单独负责形成麦哲伦桥，流，引导臂和中性氢延伸到天空的一半。 这些结果指向了一个比几年前想象的更丰富、更复杂的结构。 研究人员的观测将揭示麦哲伦星系外围巨大但表面亮度低的恒星结构，从而揭开云的复杂相互作用历史。

The investigators are leading the "Survey of the MAgellanic Stellar History" (SMASH), a project to observe two nearby dwarf galaxies, visible in the southern hemisphere. These dwarf galaxies, called the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC), are a unique local laboratory for studying the formation and evolution of galaxies in exquisite detail. The investigators' goal is to observe the debris left over from star formation in these galaxies. Using these observations, they will learn the history of formation of these dwarf galaxies and determine what type interactions these galaxies have had with our Milky Way Galaxy.The investigators are working with the Zooniverse team, which connects research scientists with the volunteers in the general public that want to help with research. The team will organize the data in a way that allows non-experts to group the stars into different categories, using web-based tools. The Zooniverse software tools help researchers make progress, while making the process enjoyable for the volunteers.A decade ago, the interaction history of the Magellanic Clouds was thought to be well understood, with only minor details remaining to be explained. However, in the last decade, several important discoveries have been made which raise fresh questions about their structure and past history. The observations indicate LMC-SMC interactions alone are responsible for the formation of the Magellanic Bridge, Stream, Leading Arm and neutral hydrogen extending half way across the sky. These results point to a much richer and more complex structure than was imagined just a few years ago. The investigators observations will uncover the vast, but low surface brightness, stellar structures in the Magellanic periphery and thereby unravel the complex interaction history of the Clouds.