A stream of hydrogen connects the Milky Way with the Magellanic Clouds

The discovery actually strengthens the original theory that holds that the clouds have been surrounding the Milky Way for a long time * However, the moving away hypothesis has not been dropped from the chapter

For the people who inhabit the southern half of the Earth, the Magellanic Clouds are a familiar celestial object. These are the closest and brightest examples of dwarf galaxies that can be seen from the Milky Way. Radio astronomers have discovered a subtle stream of hydrogen linking our galaxy with the Magellanic Clouds. This current will help astronomers calculate the movement of the clouds and determine whether they have been here for a long time or maybe they are just passing through the area.

The end of the hydrogen stream, called HVC306-2+230, pierces the Milky Way's disk in a region about 70,000 light-years from the Solar System. The exact point is near the Southern Cross constellation.

Astronomers believed that the Magellanic Clouds have circled the Milky Way many times in the past, and are slowly breaking away. But new observations from the Hubble Space Telescope have shown that they are actually moving faster than previously thought. Instead of moving around the Milky Way, it may be their only pass through here, and they will never return. By discovering the location where the gas arm connects to the Milky Way, astronomers will be able to more easily calculate the path of the Magellanic Clouds.

"We believe that the gas arm is the result of tidal forces, the Milky Way's gravity pulling gas from the Magellanic Clouds," says Dr McClure-Griffiths, head of the research team at the Australian National Telescope Facility CSIRO. "We expect the Magellanic Clouds to go in the direction the gas is going, at least approximately."

The discovery actually strengthens the original theory which holds that the clouds have been surrounding the Milky Way for a long time. Of course, the researchers take into account the fact that this is not the last word on the Magellanic Clouds - the alternative theory that the Magellanic Clouds are just passing through the Milky Way has not been completely dropped.

But if they are still right, the Magellanic Clouds will eventually merge with the Milky Way, and not continue on their way.