Image Details
Caption: Figure 3.
Comparison between the observed distribution of MSTO stars in the plane of R.A. versus heliocentric distance (upper panels) and the predicted tidal debris from simulations of the interactions between the MW and satellite galaxies (lower panels). The green dots represent tidal debris from the Sagittarius dwarf, based on the simulation of E. Vasiliev et al. (2021). The blue dots represent the predicted tidal debris from the LMC in the simulation of E. Vasiliev (2023a), under the assumption that the LMC is currently on its first passage (L2M10first model). The red dots represent the tidal debris from the LMC in the simulation of E. Vasiliev (2024), under the assumption that the LMC is currently on its second passage (L2M10 model). It is apparent that the predictions for the Sagittarius Stream are consistent with the observational data in both the spring and fall fields, and that both models of the orbit of the LMC predict debris in these fields. The rightmost lower panel shows very little predicted contribution from the recent passage of the LMC (first passage model; blue points), while there is tidal debris from the first passage of the second-passage model of the LMC (red points), primarily beyond 50 kpc from the Sun, in a diffuse, featureless distribution.
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.