New satellite galaxy

[Tweedledee]

Newly discovered very faint satellite galaxy sparks search for more.

 

http://www.sciencealert.com/astronomers-have-discovered-an-unexpected-object-orbiting-our-galaxy

[Stephen]

Good and interesting write up Pete

[Smithysteve]

That's an interesting article - I am sure many more will be found, they are extremely faint! ?

[Tweedledee]

43 minutes ago, Smithysteve said:

 they are extremely faint! ?

Apart from two, but I've never spotted them. 

[Smithysteve]

4 hours ago, Tweedledee said:

Apart from two, but I've never spotted them. 

SMC and large I presume you mean Pete? I do wonder how faint they appear to the naked eye... just a pity we cannot have em up here in the northern Hemisphere! 

[Tweedledee]

2 hours ago, Smithysteve said:

SMC and large I presume you mean Pete? I do wonder how faint they appear to the naked eye... just a pity we cannot have em up here in the northern Hemisphere! 

Yes, it is a pity. I think they look like detached parts of the Milky Way with the naked eye. So light pollution would make them difficult to see, but from a dark sky like the Australian desert, they should be an impressive sight.

[Guest]

On the original post, I'm still rather sceptical about dark matter. It could still turn out to be the "epicycle" of the 21st century. Glad to see really faint galaxies being discovered though.

 

On the SMC and LMC, I've seen them both. Like the Milky Way, they are hard to spot from urban locations but appear as a lightening of part of the sky when viewed through binoculars. I first saw them with the unaided eye from El Quisco on the Chilean coast. TBH, they are not spectacular but look a bit like the Milky Way.

 

Now a great object is our galactic centre. I've only been in Chile in their summer when it is too near the Sun but it looked great from Brazil in July. Omega Centauri is rather good, too.