Measure the motion of 39 dwarf galaxies

13/11/2018
Thanks to the data acquired by the ESA Gaia space mission, an international team, led by researchers from the IAC, has been able to measure the on-sky motion of 39 dwarf galaxies, determining its direction and velocity. These data gives information on the dynamics of these galaxies, their histories and their interactions with the Milky Way. The researchers found that many of them are moving in a plane known as the vast polar structure. The origin of ‘the vast polar structure’ is still not fully understood but its characteristics appear to challenge cosmological models of galaxy formation. Also the Large Magellanic Cloud is found in this planar structure, which might imply the two are connected. Dwarf galaxies, besides being interesting in their own right, are one of the few tracers of dark matter that can be used in the most external parts of the Milky Way. >> Read more