The Milky Way may be surrounded by hundreds of satellite galaxies

1 Jul. () –

Observations with the Subaru Telescope, in the Hawaiian Islands, have revealed two new dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way, called Virgo III and Sextans II.

With this discovery, different research teams have discovered a total of nine satellite galaxies. This is still far fewer than the 220 satellite galaxies predicted by the standard dark matter theory.according to the discoverers of the new dwarf galaxies, from Tohoku University.

However, the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Subaru Strategic Program (SSP) data footprint — used for this research — does not cover the entire Milky Way. If the distribution of these nine satellite galaxies throughout the Milky Way is similar, the research team calculates that in reality There may be as many as 500 satellite galaxies.

These scientists acknowledge the possibility that there are probably many small, undiscovered satellite galaxies (dwarf galaxies) that are very far away and difficult to detect.

Now, we are facing a “too many satellites problem” rather than a “missing satellite problem,” says Masahi Chiba, a professor at Tohoku University and author of the new study, which appears in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan.

To better characterize the actual number of satellite galaxies, more high-resolution imaging and analysis is required. “The next step is to use a more powerful telescope that captures a broader view of the sky,” Chiba explains. it’s a statement. “Next year, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile will be used to fulfill that purpose. I hope that many new satellite galaxies will be discovered.”