Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 August 2015
Among the currently interesting problems of interpreting the Magellanic Stream as an instance of tidal disruption is that of finding some demonstrable phenomenon in the makeup of the involved material that parallels the better known cases of tidal interaction, as for example NGC4038/39, where the dynamic and star-formation time scales are in agreement (Schweizer 1977). The observational problems that beset the interpretation of the Magellanic Stream are numerous (Mathewson and Schwartz 1976, Kunkel 1979, Bregman 1979), and the marked difference between the composition of the Stream (evidenced purely through HI) and the stellar systems (at least 80 percent stars) is among the outstanding dilemmas remaining. Finding some counterpart in the Magellanic scene comparable to the better recognized instances of tidal interaction may go some way towards clarifying a perplexing situation.