Researchers scanning the skies just got a big surprise. They spotted a humongous galaxy orbiting our own, where none had been seen before. It appeared, seemingly, out of nowhere.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/a-giant-galaxy-orbiting-our-own-just-appeared-out-of-nowhere/

The reason that it was not discovered previously is that it is extremely diffuse and dim.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3541631/The-feeble-giant-lurking-near-Milky-Way-Previously-unknown-Crater-2-star-cluster-spotted-orbiting-galaxy.html

As an aside, what causes the milkyness of the milkyway?

Peak Warming Man said:

As an aside, what causes the milkyness of the milkyway?

Skycow………

Peak Warming Man said:

As an aside, what causes the milkyness of the milkyway?

Stars, lots and lots of stars (various distances).

Michael V said:

Peak Warming Man said:

As an aside, what causes the milkyness of the milkyway?

Stars, lots and lots of stars (various distances).

So, light pollution basically.

Peak Warming Man said:

Michael V said:

Peak Warming Man said:

As an aside, what causes the milkyness of the milkyway?

Stars, lots and lots of stars (various distances).

So, light pollution basically.

Good on a salad.

Peak Warming Man said:

Michael V said:

Peak Warming Man said:

As an aside, what causes the milkyness of the milkyway?

Stars, lots and lots of stars (various distances).

So, light pollution basically.

Ha! Pretty much.

:)

Kingy said:

Researchers scanning the skies just got a big surprise. They spotted a humongous galaxy orbiting our own, where none had been seen before. It appeared, seemingly, out of nowhere.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/a-giant-galaxy-orbiting-our-own-just-appeared-out-of-nowhere/

“We announce the discovery of the Crater 2 dwarf galaxy, identified in imaging data of the VST ATLAS survey. Given its half-light radius of ∼1100 pc, Crater 2 is the fourth largest satellite of the Milky Way, surpassed only by the LMC, SMC and the Sgr dwarf.”

What’s VST ATLAS? If VLT stands for Very Large Telescope does VST stand for Very Small Telescope? Most recent neighbouring galaxies were found by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Perhaps Crater 2 was in the wrong direction for the SDSS.

Very large Survey Telescope.

anyway I am going into town. to buy stuff.

JudgeMental said:

anyway I am going into town. to buy stuff.

in a galaxy far, far, away?

mollwollfumble said:

Kingy said:

Researchers scanning the skies just got a big surprise. They spotted a humongous galaxy orbiting our own, where none had been seen before. It appeared, seemingly, out of nowhere.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/a-giant-galaxy-orbiting-our-own-just-appeared-out-of-nowhere/

“We announce the discovery of the Crater 2 dwarf galaxy, identified in imaging data of the VST ATLAS survey. Given its half-light radius of ∼1100 pc, Crater 2 is the fourth largest satellite of the Milky Way, surpassed only by the LMC, SMC and the Sgr dwarf.”

What’s VST ATLAS? If VLT stands for Very Large Telescope does VST stand for Very Small Telescope? Most recent neighbouring galaxies were found by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Perhaps Crater 2 was in the wrong direction for the SDSS.

I was half right. Crater 2 is in the wrong direction for the SDSS. The SDSS is a northern hemisphere survey and Crater 2 is south.

VST stands for “VLT Survey Telescope”.

“ The VLT Survey Telescope (VST), the latest addition to ESO’s Paranal Observatory, has made its first release of impressive images of the southern sky. The VST is a state-of-the-art 2.6-metre telescope, with the huge 268-megapixel camera OmegaCAM at its heart, which is designed to map the sky both quickly and with very fine image quality. It is a visible-light telescope that perfectly complements ESO’s VISTA infrared survey telescope. “

“ The initial aim of ATLAS is to survey 4500 deg2 of the Southern Sky at high galactic latitudes to comparable depths to the SDSS in the North. The VST ATLAS will be the first step towards a panoramic digital survey of the Southern Sky in the optical bands. The ATLAS will complement the proposed VISTA Hemisphere Survey in the South. “

For more, see http://astro.dur.ac.uk/Cosmology/vstatlas/
And
http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1119/

Peak Warming Man said:

As an aside, what causes the milkyness of the milkyway?

Distant stars, extremely numerous but each too small to be discerned separately.

dv said:

Peak Warming Man said:

As an aside, what causes the milkyness of the milkyway?

Distant stars, extremely numerous but each too small to be discerned separately.

It is beautiful. I look at it almost every night I can see it.

Welcome to the ‘hood, neighboureenos.

It’s one of the dimmest galaxies ever spotted in the universe.. that researchers have nicknamed “the feeble giant”

——

More exciting even than the upcoming extremely exciting and extended electioneering extravaganza.