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A cosmic breadcrumb trail leads astronomers to a discovery in another galaxy
Researchers used Hubble archival data to trace the stream’s gravity and estimate the galaxy’s visible mass and dark matter content.
- On Wednesday, astronomers discovered the first stellar stream outside the Milky Way within galaxy UGC 9050-Dw1, according to a study published in the journal Nature. Researchers identified the faint trail of stars hidden in archival Hubble Space Telescope data.
- The stream resides in an ultra-diffuse galaxy roughly 115 million light-years away, where co-lead author Sarah Pearson, an associate professor at DTU Space, noted the massive gravitational field created ideal conditions to pull out stars from the cluster.
- By modeling the stream's motion, researchers traced the host galaxy's gravitational field and estimated its total mass, including dark matter—a mysterious substance constituting about 80% to 85% of our universe.
- NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, expected to launch later this month, will have a wider field of view than Hubble, enabling further detections of stellar streams across distant galaxies.
- Dark matter remains one of physics' biggest open questions despite being known for nearly a century. Studying these cosmic breadcrumb trails may reveal secrets about galactic evolution and the mysterious substance that shapes the universe.
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Faint stellar stream beyond Milky Way discovered by NASA's Hubble Telescope
The stream was found in UGC 9050-Dw1, an ultra-diffuse galaxy. It is believed to be the remnant of a dense star cluster whose stars are gradually being pulled away by the gravitational force of their host galaxy. As stars escape from such a cluster, they can form long and narrow streams.
A thin strip of stars from a distant galaxy led astronomers to a discovery that could reveal secrets related to one of the greatest mysteries of our universe.
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Leaning Left0Leaning Right1Center27Last UpdatedBias Distribution96% Center
Bias Distribution
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96% Center
C 96%
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