A team using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a new type of astronomical object

A team using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a new type of astronomical object —a starless, gas-rich, dark-matter cloud that is considered a “relic” or remnant of early galaxy formation. Nicknamed “Cloud-9,” this is the first confirmed detection of such an object in the Universe

This image shows the blank field of the surrounding region of Cloud-9, which is 2,000 light-years from Earth. The image identifying its location can be found here.

[Image description: A dark field with stars and galaxies of various sizes speckled throughout the image. A particularly bright star is visible in the upper left region of the image.]