Chance of Non-Nucleated Light Source Superposition on Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy Centers

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Chance of Non-Nucleated Light Source Superposition on Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy Centers Chance of Non-Nucleated Light Source Superposition on Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy Centers Michaud, Max (School: University High School) This project sought to determine whether Dark Matter dominated galaxies are nucleated. In January of 2015, an article was published that sparked interest in the scientific community. The scientists noticed unusual qualities about 47 galaxies of ~1.5kpc in the Coma cluster, one of the two major clusters in the Coma supercluster. These galaxies display surprising dichotomies that exist among their distinguishing characteristics: they possess high volume while simultaneously having low metallicity, stellar formation rates, and energy radiation. Most resemble red sequence late-type galaxy analogues with low mass, suggesting that they are dark matter-dominated and therefor of great interest to the scientific community. Because of these properties, the 47 objects were made a new classification of galaxies: Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs). This project analyzed 275 UDG images that were “the result of automated post processing of data from the Legacy Surveys, a three-band imaging survey covering 14,000 square degrees of the intergalactic sky.” 17 objects in the sample appeared to have nucleated centers, and the focus of this project became to understand if that were true. By first finding out the chance percentage of a superpositioned light source being anywhere on the image, the binomial distribution theorem was used to determine the likelihood of the galaxies identified with a central light source being actually nucleated. The data analysis demonstrated a 79% certainty that the 17 UDGs are nucleated, which is not enough to make the claim that every galaxy possessing a central light source within this project’s criteria is nucleated. Knowing whether or not these DM-dominated objects are nucleated would give insight into the nature of dark matter interactions with itself. Awards Won: University of Arizona: Renewal Tuition Scholarship .
Recommended publications
  • Formation of an Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy in the Stellar Filaments of NGC 3314A
    A&A 652, L11 (2021) Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202141086 & c ESO 2021 Astrophysics LETTER TO THE EDITOR Formation of an ultra-diffuse galaxy in the stellar filaments of NGC 3314A: Caught in the act? Enrichetta Iodice1 , Antonio La Marca1, Michael Hilker2, Michele Cantiello3, Giuseppe D’Ago4, Marco Gullieuszik5, Marina Rejkuba2, Magda Arnaboldi2, Marilena Spavone1, Chiara Spiniello6, Duncan A. Forbes7, Laura Greggio5, Roberto Rampazzo5, Steffen Mieske8, Maurizio Paolillo9, and Pietro Schipani1 1 INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, Salita Moiariello 16, 80131 Naples, Italy e-mail: [email protected] 2 European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, 85748 Garching bei Muenchen, Germany 3 INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Abruzzo, Via Maggini, 64100 Teramo, Italy 4 Instituto de Astrofísica, Facultad de Fisica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, 7820436 Macul, Santiago, Chile 5 INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy 6 Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK 7 Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia 8 European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile 9 University of Naples “Federico II”, C.U. Monte Sant’Angelo, Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy Received 14 April 2021 / Accepted 9 July 2021 ABSTRACT The VEGAS imaging survey of the Hydra I cluster has revealed an extended network of stellar filaments to the south-west of the spiral galaxy NGC 3314A. Within these filaments, at a projected distance of ∼40 kpc from the galaxy, we discover an ultra-diffuse galaxy −2 (UDG) with a central surface brightness of µ0;g ∼ 26 mag arcsec and effective radius Re ∼ 3:8 kpc.
    [Show full text]
  • A High Stellar Velocity Dispersion and ~100 Globular Clusters for the Ultra
    San Jose State University From the SelectedWorks of Aaron J. Romanowsky 2016 A High Stellar Velocity Dispersion and ~100 Globular Clusters for the Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy Dragonfly 44 Pieter van Dokkum, Yale University Roberto Abraham, University of Toronto Jean P. Brodie, University of California Observatories Charlie Conroy, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Shany Danieli, Yale University, et al. Available at: https://works.bepress.com/aaron_romanowsky/117/ The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 828:L6 (6pp), 2016 September 1 doi:10.3847/2041-8205/828/1/L6 © 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. A HIGH STELLAR VELOCITY DISPERSION AND ∼100 GLOBULAR CLUSTERS FOR THE ULTRA-DIFFUSE GALAXY DRAGONFLY 44 Pieter van Dokkum1, Roberto Abraham2, Jean Brodie3, Charlie Conroy4, Shany Danieli1, Allison Merritt1, Lamiya Mowla1, Aaron Romanowsky3,5, and Jielai Zhang2 1 Astronomy Department, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA 2 Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada 3 University of California Observatories, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA 4 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, USA 5 Department of Physics and Astronomy, San José State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA Received 2016 June 20; revised 2016 July 14; accepted 2016 July 15; published 2016 August 25 ABSTRACT Recently a population of large, very low surface brightness, spheroidal galaxies was identified in the Coma cluster. The apparent survival of these ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in a rich cluster suggests that they have very high masses. Here, we present the stellar kinematics of Dragonfly44, one of the largest Coma UDGs, using a 33.5 hr fi +8 -1 integration with DEIMOS on the Keck II telescope.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatially Resolved Stellar Kinematics of the Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy Dragonfly 44
    The Astrophysical Journal, 880:91 (26pp), 2019 August 1 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab2914 © 2019. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Spatially Resolved Stellar Kinematics of the Ultra-diffuse Galaxy Dragonfly 44. I. Observations, Kinematics, and Cold Dark Matter Halo Fits Pieter van Dokkum1 , Asher Wasserman2 , Shany Danieli1 , Roberto Abraham3 , Jean Brodie2 , Charlie Conroy4 , Duncan A. Forbes5, Christopher Martin6, Matt Matuszewski6, Aaron J. Romanowsky2,7 , and Alexa Villaume2 1 Astronomy Department, Yale University, 52 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, USA 2 University of California Observatories, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA 3 Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada 4 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, USA 5 Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia 6 Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1216 East California Boulevard, Mail Code 278-17, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 7 Department of Physics and Astronomy, San José State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA Received 2019 March 31; revised 2019 May 25; accepted 2019 June 5; published 2019 July 30 Abstract We present spatially resolved stellar kinematics of the well-studied ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) Dragonfly44, as determined from 25.3 hr of observations with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager. The luminosity-weighted dispersion +3 −1 within the half-light radius is s12= 33-3 km s , lower than what we had inferred before from a DEIMOS spectrum in the Hα region. There is no evidence for rotation, with Vmax áñ<s 0.12 (90% confidence) along the major axis, in possible conflict with models where UDGs are the high-spin tail of the normal dwarf galaxy distribution.
    [Show full text]
  • An Ultra Diffuse Galaxy in the NGC 5846 Group from the VEGAS Survey Duncan A
    A&A 626, A66 (2019) Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201935499 & c ESO 2019 Astrophysics An ultra diffuse galaxy in the NGC 5846 group from the VEGAS survey Duncan A. Forbes1, Jonah Gannon1, Warrick J. Couch1, Enrichetta Iodice2, Marilena Spavone2, Michele Cantiello3, Nicola Napolitano4, and Pietro Schipani2 1 Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia e-mail: [email protected] 2 INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, Salita Moiariello 16, 80131 Naples, Italy 3 INAF Astronomical Observatory of Abruzzo, Via Maggini snc, 64100 Teramo, Italy 4 School of Physics and Astronomy, Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus, 2 Daxue Road, Tangjia, Zhuhai, Guangdong 519082, PR China Received 19 March 2019 / Accepted 10 May 2019 ABSTRACT Context. Many ultra diffuse galaxies (UDGs) have now been identified in clusters of galaxies. However, the number of nearby UDGs suitable for detailed follow-up remain rare. Aims. Our aim is to begin to identify UDGs in the environments of nearby bright early-type galaxies from the VEGAS survey. Methods. Here we use a deep g band image of the NGC 5846 group, taken as part of the VEGAS survey, to search for UDGs. Results. We found one object with properties of a UDG if it associated with the NGC 5846 group, which seems likely. The galaxy, 8 we name NGC 5846_UDG1, has an absolute magnitude of Mg = −14.2, corresponding to a stellar mass of ∼10 M . It also reveals a system of compact sources which are likely globular clusters. Based on the number of globular clusters detected we estimate a halo 10 mass that is greater than 8 × 10 M for UDG1.
    [Show full text]
  • Aaron J. Romanowsky Curriculum Vitae (Rev. 1 Septembert 2021) Contact Information: Department of Physics & Astronomy San
    Aaron J. Romanowsky Curriculum Vitae (Rev. 1 Septembert 2021) Contact information: Department of Physics & Astronomy +1-408-924-5225 (office) San Jose´ State University +1-409-924-2917 (FAX) One Washington Square [email protected] San Jose, CA 95192 U.S.A. http://www.sjsu.edu/people/aaron.romanowsky/ University of California Observatories +1-831-459-3840 (office) 1156 High Street +1-831-426-3115 (FAX) Santa Cruz, CA 95064 [email protected] U.S.A. http://www.ucolick.org/%7Eromanow/ Main research interests: galaxy formation and dynamics – dark matter – star clusters Education: Ph.D. Astronomy, Harvard University Nov. 1999 supervisor: Christopher Kochanek, “The Structure and Dynamics of Galaxies” M.A. Astronomy, Harvard University June 1996 B.S. Physics with High Honors, June 1994 College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara Employment: Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Aug. 2020 – present San Jose´ State University Associate Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Aug. 2016 – Aug. 2020 San Jose´ State University Assistant Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Aug. 2012 – Aug. 2016 San Jose´ State University Research Associate, University of California Observatories, Santa Cruz Oct. 2012 – present Associate Specialist, University of California Observatories, Santa Cruz July 2007 – Sep. 2012 Researcher in Astronomy, Department of Physics, Oct. 2004 – June 2007 University of Concepcion´ Visiting Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Astronomical and May 2005 Geophysical Sciences, National University of La Plata Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Physics and Astronomy, June 2002 – Oct. 2004 University of Nottingham Postdoctoral Fellow, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Oct. 1999 – May 2002 Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Research Fellow, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics June 1994 – Oct.
    [Show full text]
  • Spectroscopic Study of MATLAS-2019 with MUSE: an Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy with an Excess of Old Globular Clusters?,?? Oliver Müller1, Francine R
    Spectroscopic study of MATLAS-2019 with MUSE An ultra-diffuse galaxy with an excess of old globular clusters Muller, Oliver; Marleau, Francine R.; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Habas, Rebecca; Fensch, Jeremy; Emsellem, Eric; Poulain, Melina; Lim, Sungsoon; Agnello, Adriano; Durrell, Patrick; Paudel, Sanjaya; Sanchez-Janssen, Ruben; van der Burg, Remco F. J. Published in: Astronomy & Astrophysics DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202038351 Publication date: 2020 Document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Document license: CC BY-NC Citation for published version (APA): Muller, O., Marleau, F. R., Duc, P-A., Habas, R., Fensch, J., Emsellem, E., Poulain, M., Lim, S., Agnello, A., Durrell, P., Paudel, S., Sanchez-Janssen, R., & van der Burg, R. F. J. (2020). Spectroscopic study of MATLAS- 2019 with MUSE: An ultra-diffuse galaxy with an excess of old globular clusters. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 640, [A106]. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038351 Download date: 30. sep.. 2021 A&A 640, A106 (2020) Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038351 & c O. Müller et al. 2020 Astrophysics Spectroscopic study of MATLAS-2019 with MUSE: An ultra-diffuse galaxy with an excess of old globular clusters?,?? Oliver Müller1, Francine R. Marleau2, Pierre-Alain Duc1, Rebecca Habas1, Jérémy Fensch3, Eric Emsellem3,4, Mélina Poulain2, Sungsoon Lim5, Adriano Agnello6, Patrick Durrell7, Sanjaya Paudel8, Rubén Sánchez-Janssen9, and Remco F. J. van der Burg4 1 Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg (ObAS), Universite de Strasbourg – CNRS, UMR 7550, Strasbourg, France e-mail: [email protected] 2 Institut für Astro- und Teilchenphysik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25/8, Innsbruck 6020, Austria 3 Univ.
    [Show full text]
  • NGC 3628-UCD1: a Possible $\Omega $ Cen Analog Embedded
    DRAFT VERSION NOVEMBER 6, 2018 Preprint typeset using LATEX style emulateapj v. 5/2/11 NGC 3628-UCD1: A POSSIBLE ! CEN ANALOG EMBEDDED IN A STELLAR STREAM ZACHARY G. JENNINGS1 ,AARON J. ROMANOWSKY1,2 ,JEAN P. BRODIE1 ,JOACHIM JANZ3 ,MARK A. NORRIS4 ,DUNCAN A. FORBES3 , DAVID MARTINEZ-DELGADO5 ,MARTINA FAGIOLI3 ,SAMANTHA J. PENNY6 Draft version November 6, 2018 ABSTRACT Using Subaru/Suprime-Cam wide-field imaging and both Keck/ESI and LBT/MODS spectroscopy, we iden- tify and characterize a compact star cluster, which we term NGC 3628-UCD1, embedded in a stellar stream around the spiral galaxy NGC 3628. The size and luminosity of UCD1 are similar to ! Cen, the most luminous Milky Way globular cluster, which has long been suspected to be the stripped remnant of an accreted dwarf 6 galaxy. The object has a magnitude of i = 19:3 mag (Li = 1:4 × 10 L ). UCD1 is marginally resolved in our ground-based imaging, with a half-light radius of ∼ 10 pc. We measure an integrated brightness for the stellar stream of i = 13:1 mag, with (g - i) = 1:0. This would correspond to an accreted dwarf galaxy with an 8 approximate luminosity of Li ∼ 4:1 × 10 L . Spectral analysis reveals that UCD1 has an age of 6:6 Gyr , [Z=H] = -0:75, and [α=Fe] = -0:10. We propose that UCD1 is an example of an ! Cen-like star cluster possi- bly forming from the nucleus of an infalling dwarf galaxy, demonstrating that at least some of the massive star cluster population may be created through tidal stripping.
    [Show full text]
  • Spectroscopic Confirmation of Four Ultra Diffuse Galaxy Candidates In
    Spectroscopic Confirmation of Four Ultra Diffuse Galaxy Candidates in Group Environments Research Thesis Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with research distinction in Astronomy and Astrophysics in the undergraduate colleges of The Ohio State University by Conor Hayes The Ohio State University May 2020 Project Advisors: Dr. Paul Martini, Dr. Johnny Greco Abstract Ultra diffuse galaxies (UDGs) are a type of low surface brightness galaxy that have gar- nered much interest in the astronomical community in recent years in part because their high dark to baryonic matter ratios make them ideal testing grounds for the assumptions of the ΛCDM cosmological framework. Measuring redshifts of these objects is of critical importance because it allows us to understand their physical properties and, through comparisons with established galaxy catalogues, the environments in which they live. In this work, I present redshift measurements for four UDG candidates. Through these measurements, I have de- termined that these objects exist in group environments. Because the number of UDGs in similar environments with confirmed distances is presently quite small, this represents an important addition to our catalogues of the low surface brightness universe. Contents 1 Introduction2 2 UDG Candidate Characterization8 2.1 Sample Selection.................................8 2.2 Redshift Identification.............................. 10 2.3 Physical Properties................................ 12 3 Environments 17 4 Conclusions and Future Work 20 A Spectra 22 B Environments 27 Chapter 1 Introduction Over a period of ten days in December 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope stared at a relatively unexciting patch of the sky about 2.6 arcminutes across. The resulting image, now known as the Hubble Deep Field, revealed a universe packed full of galaxies.
    [Show full text]
  • Space Telescope Science Institute Investigators Title
    PROP ID: 16100 Principal Investigator: Julia Roman-Duval PI Institution: Space Telescope Science Institute Investigators Title: ULLYSES SMC O7-O9 Giants COS Cycle: 27 Allocation: 8 orbits Proprietary Period: 0 months Program Status: Program Coordinator: Tricia Royle Visit Status Information None PROP ID: 16101 Principal Investigator: Julia Roman-Duval PI Institution: Space Telescope Science Institute Investigators Title: ULLYSES SMC B1 Stars COS Cycle: 27 Allocation: 12 orbits Proprietary Period: 0 months Program Status: Program Coordinator: Tricia Royle Visit Status Information None PROP ID: 16102 Principal Investigator: Julia Roman-Duval PI Institution: Space Telescope Science Institute Investigators Title: SMC B2 to B4 Supergiants COS/STIS Cycle: 27 Allocation: 16 orbits Proprietary Period: 0 months Program Status: Program Coordinator: Tricia Royle Contact Scientist: Sergio Dieterich Visit Status Information None PROP ID: 16103 Principal Investigator: Julia Roman-Duval PI Institution: Space Telescope Science Institute Investigators Title: ULLYSES SMC O Stars COS 1096 Cycle: 27 Allocation: 17 orbits Proprietary Period: 0 months Program Status: Program Coordinator: Tricia Royle Contact Scientist: Julia Roman-Duval Visit Status Information None PROP ID: 16104 Principal Investigator: Julia Roman-Duval PI Institution: Space Telescope Science Institute Investigators Title: ULLYSES UV Pre-imaging of Sextans A and NGC 3109 Targets Cycle: 27 Allocation: 2 orbits Proprietary Period: 0 months Program Status: Program Coordinator: Tricia Royle Visit
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy Magazine 2020 Index
    Astronomy Magazine 2020 Index SUBJECT A AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers), Spectroscopic Database (AVSpec), 2:15 Abell 21 (Medusa Nebula), 2:56, 59 Abell 85 (galaxy), 4:11 Abell 2384 (galaxy cluster), 9:12 Abell 3574 (galaxy cluster), 6:73 active galactic nuclei (AGNs). See black holes Aerojet Rocketdyne, 9:7 airglow, 6:73 al-Amal spaceprobe, 11:9 Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) (star), binocular observation of, 1:62 Alnasl (Gamma Sagittarii) (optical double star), 8:68 Alpha Canum Venaticorum (Cor Caroli) (star), 4:66 Alpha Centauri A (star), 7:34–35 Alpha Centauri B (star), 7:34–35 Alpha Centauri (star system), 7:34 Alpha Orionis. See Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) Alpha Scorpii (Antares) (star), 7:68, 10:11 Alpha Tauri (Aldebaran) (star), binocular observation of, 1:62 amateur astronomy AAVSO Spectroscopic Database (AVSpec), 2:15 beginner’s guides, 3:66, 12:58 brown dwarfs discovered by citizen scientists, 12:13 discovery and observation of exoplanets, 6:54–57 mindful observation, 11:14 Planetary Society awards, 5:13 satellite tracking, 2:62 women in astronomy clubs, 8:66, 9:64 Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston (ATMoB), 8:66 American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), Spectroscopic Database (AVSpec), 2:15 Andromeda Galaxy (M31) binocular observations of, 12:60 consumption of dwarf galaxies, 2:11 images of, 3:72, 6:31 satellite galaxies, 11:62 Antares (Alpha Scorpii) (star), 7:68, 10:11 Antennae galaxies (NGC 4038 and NGC 4039), 3:28 Apollo missions commemorative postage stamps, 11:54–55 extravehicular activity
    [Show full text]
  • Discussing the First Velocity Dispersion Profile of an Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy In
    Discussing the first velocity dispersion profile ofan ultra-diffuse galaxy in MOND Michal Bílek, Oliver Müller, Benoit Famaey To cite this version: Michal Bílek, Oliver Müller, Benoit Famaey. Discussing the first velocity dispersion profile ofan ultra-diffuse galaxy in MOND. Astronomy and Astrophysics - A&A, EDP Sciences, 2019, 627, pp.L1. 10.1051/0004-6361/201935840. hal-02306467 HAL Id: hal-02306467 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02306467 Submitted on 5 Oct 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. DF44_in_MOND c ESO 2019 June 5, 2019 Letter to the Editor Discussing the first velocity dispersion profile of an ultra-diffuse galaxy in MOND Michal Bílek1, Oliver Müller1, and Benoit Famaey1 Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg (ObAS), UMR 7550, 67000 Strasbourg, France e-mail: [email protected] Received tba; accepted tba ABSTRACT Using Jeans modelling, we calculate the velocity dispersion profile of the ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) Dragonfly 44 in MOND. For the nominal mass-to-light ratio from the literature and an isotropic profile, the agreement with the data is excellent near the center of the galaxy.
    [Show full text]
  • A Galaxy Lacking Dark Matter
    A galaxy lacking dark matter Pieter van Dokkum1, Shany Danieli1, Yotam Cohen1, Allison Merritt1,2, Aaron J. Romanowsky3,4, Roberto Abraham5, Jean Brodie4, Charlie Conroy6, Deborah Lokhorst5, Lamiya Mowla1, Ewan O’Sullivan6, Jielai Zhang5 1Astronomy Department, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, observations of NGC1052–DF2 using the 10 m W. M. Keck USA Observatory. We also observed the galaxy with the Hubble 2Max-Planck-Institut fur¨ Astronomie, Konigstuhl¨ 17, D-69117 Space Telescope. Heidelberg, Germany 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Jose´ State University, A color image generated from the HST V606 and I814 San Jose, CA 95192, USA data is shown in Fig. 1. The galaxy has a striking appear- 4University of California Observatories, 1156 High Street, Santa ance. In terms of its apparent size and surface brightness it Cruz, CA 95064, USA resembles dwarf spheroidal galaxies such as those recently 8 5Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, identified in the M101 group at 7 Mpc, but the fact that it is 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada only marginally resolved implies that it is at a much greater 6Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, distance. Using the I814 band image we derive a surface Cambridge, MA, USA brightness fluctuation distance of DSBF = 19.0 ± 1.7 Mpc (see Methods). It is located only 140 from the luminous elliptical galaxy NGC 1052, which has distance measure- Studies of galaxy surveys in the context of the cold dark ments ranging from 19.4 Mpc to 21.4 Mpc.9, 10 We infer that matter paradigm have shown that the dark matter halo NGC1052–DF2 is associated with NGC 1052, and we adopt mass Mhalo and the total stellar mass Mstars are coupled D ≈ 20 Mpc for the galaxy.
    [Show full text]