Magellanic system
Maria-Rosa Cioni is the Principal Investigator of the VISTA survey of the Magellanic System (VMC).
The Magellanic Cloud system represents the nearest template for the study of stellar populations and galaxy interactions. Its low metallicity and nearby distance are key issues to exploit the unique VMC data. This survey aims to obtain Y J Ks -band photometry across the system down to Ks = 20.3 at S/N= 10. This sensitivity corresponds to the bottom of the red giant branch field stellar population and allows us to determine the global spatially resolved star formation history with unprecedented quality (~20 per cent errors at a resolution of 0.2 dex in age) and to construct a three-dimensional map of the system. A wide-area (184 square degrees) encompassing the D25 as well as major features delineated by the distribution of stars and HI gas, will both trace the structure of the galaxies and signatures of past and present interactions. Contemporary optical and kinematic observations of comparable sensitivity (e.g. VST) will provide the community with a superior database for future studies of the system and will give us an excellent insight as to what has happened elsewhere in the Universe.
Distribution of VISTA tiles across the Magellanic System (LMC, Bridge, SMC and Stream). Underlying small dots indicate the distribution of carbon stars (black), stellar clusters (blue) and associations (red) while thick dots show the location of observations to be performed with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) in the optical domain.