LMC’s tidal grip tears apart its smaller neighbor, new study finds

ESO’s VISTA survey reveals the Large Magellanic Cloud is actively tearing stars from the Small Magellanic Cloud, stretching it along a SE–NW axis and showing that the SMC’s motions are dominated by long‑standing tidal forces from the LMC rather than simple rotation; the two dwarfs are being torn apart and are on a broad path to merge with the Milky Way in the distant future.