"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
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Sounds like the name of a cover band
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
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.
*ping*
Interesting
