Astronomers Uncover Micro ‘Galaxy’ Orbiting the Milky Way

A group of scientists recently discovered the faintest and lowest-mass Milky Way satellite ever observed, located approximately 30,000 light-years away.

This stellar collection, named Ursa Major III / UNIONS 1 (UMa3/U1), consists of around 60 stars, estimated to be around 10 billion years old, within a space spanning about 10 light-years.

Despite its small size and low luminosity, the stars in UMa3/U1 are gravitationally bound together, either forming a dwarf galaxy or a star cluster.

Using the Keck Observatory’s Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph, researchers confirmed that the stars share similar velocities and chemistries, indicating their cohesion.

UMa3/U1’s discovery challenges current understandings of galaxy formation and raises questions about the definition of a galaxy, Gizmodo reported.

READ MORE: https://gizmodo.com/astronomers-uncover-micro-galaxy-orbiting-milky-way-1851383798

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