Astronomers watching the sky recently got a big surprise. They discovered a big galaxy in an undiscovered region of our galaxy. It appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
So, how did the galaxy, called Crater 2, achieve this feat,
much like a deer leaping from intergalactic bushes to peer down our collective
headlights? While Crater 2's appearance may appear sudden, he has been present
the entire time. We simply ignored it.
However, now that we know it exists, astronomers have
discovered a few more humiliating qualities. To begin, we cannot attribute the
galaxy's relative obscurity to its size. Crater 2 is so massive that it has
already been designated as the fourth largest galaxy in our galaxy's orbit. We
can't blame its distance either. The orbit of Crater 2 around the Milky Way places
it immediately overhead.
With that stated, how did we manage to miss it? Researchers
at the University of Cambridge have an answer for us in a recent publication
published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Despite its
size and proximity, Crater 2 is likewise a rather dark galaxy. Indeed, it is
one of the faintest galaxies ever discovered. This, together with several
considerably brighter neighbours, allowed the galaxy dubbed “the feeble giant”
to remain undetected until today.
However, now that we've seen Crater 2, the discovery raises
questions about what more might exist. Researchers are already talking about
starting a search for such massive, black galaxies in our neighbourhood. It
serves as a fantastic reminder that there is still a lot about space that we
don't comprehend.
Reference(s): Peer-Reviewed Research Paper