Astronomers Discover Giant Dwarf Galaxy ‘Crater 2’ Orbiting Milky Way

Astronomers at the Cambridge University spotted a dwarf galaxy quietly lurking at the edge of the Milky Way. The astronomers were observing a group of images captured by the Very Large Telescope (VST) in Chile when they made the discovery. The group who discovered it are calling it the "feeble giant" apart from its official name of Crater 2.

The Crater 2 is a dwarf galaxy that contains only a few billion stars as compared to the hundred billion present in our galaxy. The feeble giant orbits around the Milky Way in a way that is similar to how the moon orbits around the earth. The galaxy is located 390 light years from the solar system and is a sixth of the size of our galaxy, making it the fourth largest satellite galaxy.

As per reports, the Crater 2 will look twice the size of the full moon if we can spot it with our naked eyes; however, that is not possible. The newly detected galaxy is very low on luminosity despite its size due to the number of stars present in it, which also resulted in it being called the feeble giant. In fact, Crater 2's low luminosity, which makes it really faint, has contributed to it staying off our radar. The feeble giant is 100,000 times less bright than our galaxy and 1,000 to 10,000 times less bright than the other three largest satellite galaxies. The astronomers at Cambridge University could spot it only after observing the accumulation of stars over parts of the sky. Incidentally, there are around 40 discovered satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way.

The newly discovered galaxy is also unique in its shape, according to the researchers. Its super-round form is distinct from the warped shapes of other satellite galaxies due to the gravitational forces of the larger galaxies. Researchers also believe that the Crater 2 is in its current size because it remained unchanged by the interactions with the Milky Way.

According to Gabriel Torrealba, one of the astronomers from Cambridge University, the Crater 2 is a part of the Milky Way in a certain sense. As per the study, galaxies like the Milky Way are equated with galactic cannibals, which are formed due to the merging of smaller galaxies. The galaxies that remain standing during the process of merging become satellites that orbit around the larger galaxy. At the moment, the researchers are observing satellite galaxies like Crater 2 to get a deeper insight into the formation of galaxies, which will help in solving the bigger mystery of how the universe takes form.