{"id":4882,"date":"2015-03-11T07:57:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T07:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.74.50.173\/2015\/03\/nine-dwarf-galaxies-discovered-in-orbi.html"},"modified":"2017-04-07T03:41:02","modified_gmt":"2017-04-07T03:41:02","slug":"nine-dwarf-galaxies-discovered-in-orbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextbigfuture.com\/2015\/03\/nine-dwarf-galaxies-discovered-in-orbit.html","title":{"rendered":"Nine dwarf galaxies discovered in orbit around the Milky Way"},"content":{"rendered":"
A team of astronomers from the University of Cambridge have identified nine new dwarf satellites orbiting the Milky Way<\/a>, the largest number ever discovered at once. The findings, from newly-released imaging data taken from the Dark Energy Survey, may help unravel the mysteries behind dark matter, the invisible substance holding galaxies together.<\/p>\n
The new results also mark the first discovery of dwarf galaxies \u2013 small celestial objects that orbit larger galaxies \u2013 in a decade, after dozens were found in 2005 and 2006 in the skies above the northern hemisphere. The new satellites were found in the southern hemisphere near the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud, the largest and most well-known dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n
Dwarf galaxies are the smallest galaxy structures observed, the faintest of which contain just 5000 stars \u2013 the Milky Way, in contrast, contains hundreds of billions of stars. Standard cosmological models of the universe predict the existence of hundreds of dwarf galaxies in orbit around the Milky Way, but their dimness and small size makes them incredibly difficult to find, even in our own \u2018backyard\u2019. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\nArxiv – Eight New Milky Way Companions Discovered in First-Year Dark Energy Survey Data<\/a><\/p>\n