Crater 2 Dwarf

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Coordinates: Sky map 11h 49m 14.4s, −18° 24′ 46.8″

Crater 2
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
ConstellationCrater[1]
Right ascension11h 49m 14.400s
177.310°±0.03°[1]
Declination−18° 24′ 46.80″
−18.413°±0.03°[1]
Distance383,000 ly (117.5 kpc)[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)20.35±0.02 mag[1]
Absolute magnitude (V)−8.2±0.1 mag[1]
Characteristics
TypedSph[1]
Apparent size (V)62.4′ (rh=31.2′ ± 2.5′)[1]
6,950 ly (2,132 pc)
rh=1066pc ± 84pc[1]
Notable features4th largest satellite
galaxy to Milky Way[1]

Crater 2 is a low-surface-brightness dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way,[1] located approximately 380,000 ly from Earth. Its discovery in 2016 revealed significant gaps in astronomer's understanding of galaxies possessing relatively small half-light diameters and suggested the possibility of many undiscovered dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. [2] Crater 2 was identified in imaging data from the VST ATLAS survey.[2]

The galaxy has a half-light radius of ∼1100 pc, making it the fourth largest satellite of the Milky Way.[1] It has an angular size about double of that of the moon.[2][3]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Torrealba, G.; Koposov, S. E.; Belokurov, V.; Irwin, M. (2016). "The feeble giant. Discovery of a large and diffuse Milky Way dwarf galaxy in the constellation of Crater". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 459 (3): 2370–2378. arXiv:1601.07178. Bibcode:2016MNRAS.459.2370T. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw733.
  2. ^ a b c Croswell, Ken (14 April 2016). "Never-before-seen galaxy spotted orbiting the Milky Way". New Scientist. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  3. ^ Howard, Jacqueline (2016-04-16). "Elusive Dwarf Galaxy Found Orbiting Our Milky Way". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-04-19.

External links[]


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