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August 30, 2008 9:11:08 CDT

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Space Cloud on Collision Course

Posted Jan 12, 08 7:46 CST in Science & Health 

(Newser) – A cloud of hydrogen 11,000 light years long and 2500 light years wide is headed straight for our galaxy, and the inevitable collision will create a spectacular burst of star formation. But don't plan your viewing party yet—Smith's Cloud, as it is called, won't arrive for another 20 to 40 million years, Space.com reports.

The cloud, discovered in 1963, is thought to contain enough hydrogen to make a million sun-like stars. It is moving toward the Milky Way at 540,000mph and will hit far from our solar system. To see Smith's Cloud you'd need a radio telescope, which scientists used to determine whether it was approaching or leaving our galaxy.

Source Space.com

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This undated photo released by the NRAO shows an artist's conception of Smith's Cloud approaching our own Milky Way Galaxy in approximately 40 million years. The cloud, named after the astronomer who...   (Associated Press)
This photo, taken with NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's cameras, shows a portion of the Carina Nebula released Tuesday, April 24, 2007, to celebrate the 17th anniversary of the launch and deployment...   (Associated Press)
VGPS HI images of a neutral hydrogen shell in the inner Galaxy, made with the help of the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank telescope. A similar technique was used to visualize Smith's Cloud.   (ccastronomy.org)
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