Astoundingly Minuscule Galaxy Close to Andromeda: Lacks Even One-Thousandth Part of Milky Way's Magnitude
Here's a fresh, rewritten version of the article:
A Tiny Stray Satellite Galaxy Dancing on the Edge of the Andromeda Galaxy
A team of stargazers has stumbled upon the tiniest, faintest satellite galaxy that hugs the border of our Milky Way's closest celestial companion, the Andromeda Galaxy.
Nicknamed Andromeda XXXV, this diminutive wandering galaxy sits approximately 3 million light-years away from our planet. This discovery offers astronomers a valuable tool for examining satellite galaxies dwelling on the outskirts of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The team's breakthrough was unveiled this week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
One of the astronomers, Eric Bell from the University of Michigan, commenting on the discovery, stated, "These are galaxies fully operational, but they're about a millionth of the size of the Milky Way. It's like having a perfectly functional human being that's the size of a grain of rice."
Andromeda XXXV weighs only around 20,000 times more than our very own Sun; a mere morsel compared to even the smallest satellite galaxies. The Milky Way, for example, boasts a mass of about 1.5 trillion solar masses, while the most substantial galaxies can reach up to a whopping 30 trillion solar masses.
Although it is a real, thriving galaxy, Andromeda XXXV is so small that it falls under the gravitational pull of Andromeda—similarly to the satellite galaxies revolving around the Milky Way. The researchers peered at Andromeda XXXV using the Hubble Space Telescope.
According to Bell, "This type of galaxy was only discoverable around one system, the Milky Way, in the past. Now we're able to look at one around Andromeda, and it's the first time we've done that outside our system."
The Hubble's radar revealed that Andromeda XXXV isn't just a satellite galaxy, but it is small enough to cast doubt on how such miniature galaxies manage to create stars.
Co-author of the study, Marco Arias, elaborated on this finding, "Most of the Milky Way satellites have very ancient star populations. They haven't formed new stars for about 10 billion years. What we're finding is that similar satellites in Andromeda can form stars up to a few billion years ago—around 6 billion years old."
This intriguing discovery serves as a means of distinguishing satellite galaxy formation and star formation in the Milky Way from those in different galaxies. Our universe is home to an estimated population of between 100 billion to 2 trillion galaxies. Spotting these diminutive, elusive galaxies can prove challenging, making the Hubble observations of Andromeda XXXV all the more significant.
Still, scientists are left pondering questions about this petite celestial traveler, such as how it withstood the heating of the universe nearly 13 billion years ago. According to Bell, "The entire universe turned into a vat of boiling oil, and Andromeda XXXV is so small it could've lost all of its gas. Yet, it continued to form stars for several billion years thereafter."
Continual observations of the industrious, persisting satellite may yield insights into the satellite galaxies orbiting the outer reaches of our cosmic neighborhood.
- As we continue to explore the vastness of space, the small yet industrious galaxy, Andromeda XXXV, is helping astronomers differentiate the formation of satellite galaxies in the Milky Way from those in other galaxies, as its star formation activity is relatively recent compared to most Milky Way satellites.
- The androgynous team's discovery of the nearly invisible Andromeda XXXV demonstrates the power of technological advancements, with the Hubble Space Telescope being instrumental in revealing its presence.
- Advancements in science and technology have enabled us to peer into the future, allowing us to study galactic formations in the likes of Andromeda, which houses satellite galaxies like the nearly extinct Andromeda XXXV.
- Despite its size, which is nearly a millionth of the Milky Way, Andromeda XXXV stands as a testament to the adapting nature of galaxies, enduring the heating of the universe nearly 13 billion years ago and continuing to form stars for several billion years thereafter.