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A common mass scale for satellite galaxies of the Milky Way

Author

Listed:
  • Louis E. Strigari

    (Center for Cosmology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-4574, USA)

  • James S. Bullock

    (Center for Cosmology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-4574, USA)

  • Manoj Kaplinghat

    (Center for Cosmology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-4574, USA)

  • Joshua D. Simon

    (California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, MS105-24, Pasadena, California 91125, USA)

  • Marla Geha

    (Yale University, PO Box 208101, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8101, USA)

  • Beth Willman

    (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA)

  • Matthew G. Walker

    (Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK)

Abstract

Milky way satellites: galaxies with a dark side Sophisticated optical astronomy projects such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey are reaching a new threshold in detecting the least luminous galaxies in the Universe, and now at least twenty-three faint satellite galaxies are known in the region of the Milky Way. They range in luminosity from about a thousand to more than 100 million times that of the Sun. The velocities of the stars in these galaxies reveal that despite this variation in luminosity, each of the galaxies is similar in mass, at about 10 million times the mass of the Sun within their central 300 parsecs. The faintest of the Milky Way satellites are accordingly the most dark-matter-dominated galaxies known in the Universe.

Suggested Citation

  • Louis E. Strigari & James S. Bullock & Manoj Kaplinghat & Joshua D. Simon & Marla Geha & Beth Willman & Matthew G. Walker, 2008. "A common mass scale for satellite galaxies of the Milky Way," Nature, Nature, vol. 454(7208), pages 1096-1097, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:454:y:2008:i:7208:d:10.1038_nature07222
    DOI: 10.1038/nature07222
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