Newborn stars with these circumstellar disks had been observed by astronomers only in our Milky Way galaxy - until now. Observing these disks in other galaxies is very important because it tells us about how stars form in environments different from that of the Milky Way," McLeod added. The Large Magellanic Cloud is considered a satellite galaxy of the sprawling Milky Way, as is another galaxy called the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Large Magellanic Cloud has less dust than the Milky Way and a smaller content of what astronomers call metallic elements - those other than hydrogen and helium. McLeod expressed hope for detecting other circumstellar disks in the Large Magellanic Cloud and perhaps the further Small Magellanic Cloud.

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Persons: Anna McLeod, McLeod, Jonathan Henshaw, Liverpool, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: European Southern Observatory, Durham University, Liverpool John Moores University, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, England, Atacama