Magellanic Stream

The Magellanic Stream is an approximately 2 billion years old tidal stream in the Milky Way system. The long-lived intergalactic trail consists of high-velocity hydrogen crumbs flowing from the Magellanic Clouds over 100° through the Galactic south pole of the Milky Way.

Formation

The age of the stream puts its beginning at about the time when the two Magellanic Clouds may have passed close to each other some 2.5 billion years ago, triggering massive bursts of star formation. The strong stellar winds and supernova explosions from that burst of star formation could have blown out the gas and started it flowing toward the Milky Way.