New fossil galaxy discovery could answer important questions about the history of the universe

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notFritzArgelander
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New fossil galaxy discovery could answer important questions about the history of the universe

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Post by notFritzArgelander »


https://phys.org/news/2022-06-fossil-ga ... story.html

This is worth a little deeper look:

https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.09068
We report the discovery of an ultra-faint dwarf in the constellation of Pegasus. Pegasus~V (Peg~V) was initially identified in the public imaging data release of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys and confirmed with deep imaging from Gemini/GMOS-N. The colour-magnitude diagram shows a sparse red giant branch (RGB) population and a strong over-density of blue horizontal branch stars. We measure a distance to Peg~V of D=692+33−31~kpc, making it a distant satellite of Andromeda with MV=−6.3±0.2 and a half-light radius of rhalf=89±41~pc. It is located ∼260~kpc from Andromeda in the outskirts of its halo. The RGB is well-fit by a metal-poor isochrone with [Fe/H]=−3.2, suggesting it is very metal poor. This, combined with its blue horizontal branch could imply that it is a reionisation fossil. This is the first detection of an ultra-faint dwarf outside the deep Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey area, and points to a rich, faint satellite population in the outskirts of our nearest neighbour.
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
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