Posted on 08/28/2018 8:40:43 AM PDT by ETL
The newly-discovered object, BST1047+1156, is part of a collection of about 24 galaxies called the Leo I group (also known as the M96 group).
“It was so faint he hardly saw it. But I flagged it for Case Western Reserve University’s Professor Chris Mihos, with whom I’d been working the past two weeks, and explored the coordinates further,” Carr said.
“What we found pointed to the detection of a new galaxy about 37 million light-years away.”
BST1047+1156 has a radius of about 6,500 light-years and is approximately 3 billion years old.
The object has two tidal tails and is found embedded within diffuse gas connecting the spiral galaxy Messier 96 (also known as M96 or NGC 3368) to the Leo I group’s extended gas ring.
“I wasn’t quite sure how to feel,” Carr said of the discovery. “It’s not really something you are prepared for, especially this early.”
“As we learned more about this bizarre smudge in our images, the significance of the discovery really began to come into focus, and that’s when it sunk in that this was something truly special.”
While its origins remain unclear, Carr and co-authors stated it is the ‘lowest surface brightness object ever detected via integrated light.’
“The nature of BST1047+1156 is unclear,” the astronomers said.
“It could be a disrupting tidal dwarf, recently spawned from star formation triggered in the Leo I group’s tidal debris.”
“Alternatively, the object may have been a pre-existing galaxy — the most extreme example of a gas-rich field low surface brightness galaxy known to date — which had a recent burst of star formation triggered by encounters in the group environment.”
(Excerpt) Read more at sci-news.com ...
"The Local Group is the galaxy group that includes the Milky Way.
The Local Group comprises more than 54 galaxies, most of them dwarf galaxies.
Between 1 billion and 1 trillion years from now, they will collide and form a single galaxy.
Its gravitational center is located somewhere between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy.
The Local Group has a diameter of 10 Mly [10 million light-years] (3.1 Mpc) (about 1023 meters) and has a binary (dumbbell)[1] distribution. The group itself is a part of the larger Virgo Supercluster, which may be a part of the Laniakea Supercluster.
The three largest members of the group (in decreasing order) are the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way[2] and the Triangulum Galaxy. The larger two of these spiral galaxies each have their own system of satellite galaxies.
The Andromeda Galaxy’s satellite system consists of Messier 32 (M32), Messier 110 (M110), NGC 147, NGC 185, Andromeda I (And I), And II, And III, And V, And VI (also known as Pegasus Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy, or Pegasus DSph), And VII (also known as Cassiopeia Dwarf Galaxy), And VIII, And IX, And X, And XI, And XIX, And XXI and And XXII, plus several additional ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxies.[citation needed]
Milky Way’s satellite galaxies system comprises Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud, Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy (disputed, considered by some not a galaxy), Ursa Minor Dwarf Galaxy, Draco Dwarf Galaxy, Carina Dwarf Galaxy, Sextans Dwarf Galaxy, Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy, Fornax Dwarf Galaxy, Leo I (a dwarf galaxy), Leo II (a dwarf galaxy), and Ursa Major I Dwarf Galaxy and Ursa Major II Dwarf Galaxy, plus several additional ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxies.[3]
The Triangulum Galaxy may or may not be a companion to the Andromeda Galaxy. Pisces Dwarf Galaxy is equidistant from the Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy, so it may be a satellite of either.[4]
The membership of NGC 3109, with its companions Sextans A and the Antlia Dwarf Galaxy, is uncertain due to extreme distances from the center of the Local Group.[citation needed]
The other members of the group are likely gravitationally secluded from these large subgroups: IC 10, IC 1613, Phoenix Dwarf Galaxy, Leo A, Tucana Dwarf Galaxy, Cetus Dwarf Galaxy, Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy, Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte, Aquarius Dwarf Galaxy, and Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy.[citation needed]"
Astronomers Discover Possible New Member of Leo I Galaxy Group
—
Sounds like the name of a cover band
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome. I find the general big picture most interesting, the existence of a local galaxy group within a larger “super group”, as opposed to the discovery of this supposed new member of the group.
It's good that they can narrow it down.
Messier 96, also known as NGC 3368, LEDA 32192 or M96, is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Leo, about 34 million light-years from Earth.
The galaxy was first discovered by French astronomer Pierre Méchain on March 20, 1781, and added to Charles Messier’s catalogue of astronomical objects just four days later.
It spans about 100,000 light-years across, about the size of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Its estimated mass is approximately 80 billion solar masses.
Messier 96 is a dominant member of the Leo I galaxy group, also called the M96 group.
I love the study of the solar system and space. The only problem is, no matter who you watch on television, they all seem to be atheists. Every last one of them speaks to life and space as a scientific-only study. There is never any consideration given to creationism, or the possibility of God. To me, the more they study and find amazing discoveries, the more I believe in God. To them, its just the opposite. Go figure.
*ping*
Click on link for an incredible high-resolution image of the galaxy above: Messier 96...
“Dust lanes seem to swirl around the core of the spiral galaxy Messier 96 in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / LEGUS Team / R. Gendler.”
http://cdn.sci-news.com/images/enlarge2/image_3184e-Messier-96.jpg
Atheism is being closed-minded to the extreme. How in heck do they "know", with a doubt, that no creator exist?
Clarification...
“The Local Group has a diameter of 10 Mly [10 million light-years] (3.1 Mpc) (about 1023 meters)”
That’s 10^23 meters.
ie, 10 to the power 23
10 x 10 ... 23 times
Interesting
Atheists think they are too smart to fall for the concept of a creator. This is why so many of the premier astronomers are atheists. The thought never enters their mind that a creator could be behind it all. If they cannot measure it, see it, or solve it with science, it simply cannot be.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
