NASA's Hubble Accidentally Discovers Dwarf Galaxy 30 Million Light Years Away
NASA scientists have discovered a dwarf galaxy in a globular cluster which is only 30 million light years away. The newly discovered cosmic neighbour nicknamed Bedin 1 by the astronomers is a modestly sized elongated galaxy. The telescope also found an ancient glimmering star cluster with an age of around 131 billion years old.
NASA scientists have discovered a dwarf galaxy in a globular cluster which is only 30 million light years away.
The team used the NASA/ ESA (European Space Agency) telescope to study white dwarf stars within the globular cluster NGC 6752.
The newly discovered cosmic neighbour, nicknamed Bedin 1 by the astronomers, is a modestly sized, elongated galaxy, the study said.
In a celestial game of @WheresWally, our @NASAHubble Space Telescope accidentally discovered never-before-seen dwarf galaxy. ? Take a closer look at the astronomical equivalent of a living fossil from the early universe: https://t.co/y5hwRJfxbt pic.twitter.com/Kjf8nKN3DR
¡ª NASA (@NASA) 1 February 2019
It measures only around 3, 000 light-years at its greatest extent - a fraction of the size of the Milky Way. Not only is it tiny, but it is also incredibly faint.
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These properties led astronomers to classify it as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are defined by their small size, low-luminosity, lack of dust and old stellar populations.
According to a NASA statement, scientists stumbled upon stars in the cluster's outer fringes that did not actually belong. The stars were actually much farther away and part of the dwarf spheroidal galaxy dubbed Bedin 1.
The telescope also found the NGC 1466, an ancient, glimmering star cluster with an age of around 13.1 billion years old.
Stellar Saturday! This star cluster has a mass of 140k Suns & an age of around 13.1 billion yrs ¡ª making it almost as old as the universe itself. By comparing star luminosities, we can measure the distance to the stars ? Catch a glimpse with @NASAHubble: https://t.co/RjsZsZ5JED pic.twitter.com/3INNfyqyne
¡ª NASA (@NASA) 2 February 2019
NGC 1466 is a gathering of stars all held together by gravity, otherwise known as a globular cluster. According to NASA's website, the cluster is slowly moving in the cosmos on the fringers of one of Milky Way's neighboring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud.
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