Astonishment Among Scientists… Discovery of a Dwarf Galaxy That Should Not Exist
Astronomers, led by Tim Carlton from the University of Arizona, discovered a dwarf galaxy named Pearlsdge in images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, despite it not being the primary target of observation. The discovery was announced in the “Astrophysical Journal Letters.”
Dwarf galaxies are small in size with low luminosity, containing less than 100 million stars, unlike the Milky Way galaxy, which has approximately 200 billion stars.
The Pearlsdge galaxy appeared in the telescope images as part of the “Pearls” project to capture areas outside the galaxy, even though it was not the main focus of observation.
Pearlsdge, a quiet and isolated galaxy, is a rarity unseen before, challenging current theories that predict isolated galaxies to form new stars or interact with larger companion galaxies.
The presence of old stars in the galaxy, the lack of new star formation, and its isolation pose a clear challenge to previous assumptions about the behavior of isolated galaxies.
Individual stars in Pearlsdge can be observed in telescope images, providing a level of detail that allows astronomers to measure its distance from the planet, which is 98 million light-years away.
A wide range of data sources contributed to the study, including the near-infrared camera of the James Webb Space Telescope, spectral data from the Lowell Discovery Telescope, and imaging from various space and ground-based telescopes.
This discovery challenges current theories and suggests the possibility of more quiet, isolated galaxies waiting to be discovered, with the James Webb Space Telescope having the capability to do so.
