Hubble probes ‘ghost’ galaxy
Astronomers used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to unmask the dim, star-starved dwarf galaxy Leo IV. This Hubble image demonstrates why astronomers had a tough time spotting this small-fry galaxy: it is practically invisible. The image shows how the handful of stars from the sparse galaxy are virtually indistinguishable from the background.
Residing 500 000 light-years from Earth, Leo IV is one of more than a dozen ultra-faint dwarf galaxies found lurking around our Milky Way galaxy. These galaxies are dominated by dark matter, an invisible substance that makes up the bulk of the Universe’s mass.
Credit:NASA, ESA, and T. Brown (STScI)
About the Image
Id: | heic1211a |
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Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 10 July 2012, 19:00 |
Related releases: | heic1211 |
Size: | 6515 x 6615 px |
About the Object
Name: | Leo IV dwarf galaxy |
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Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Size : Dwarf |
Distance: | 500000 light years |
Constellation: | Leo |
Category: | Galaxies |
Image Formats
Wallpapers
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 11 32 57.31 |
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Position (Dec): | 0° 30' 58.21" |
Field of view: | 3.26 x 3.31 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 24.0° right of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
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Optical V | 606 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical i | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |