These dwarf galaxies in the Hydra cluster are baffling scientists: 'We found something we didn't expect'

image via Space.com

February 26, 2025, 10:00 PM

• •Astronomers have discovered something surprising about the universe's smallest and faintest class of galaxies: Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs).
• •The scientists reached these findings while studying stellar motion in 30 UDGs in the Hydra galaxy cluster located over 160 million light-years away from us.
• •The team's results are important validation for the LEWIS project, which has thus far doubled the number of UDGs that have been analyzed spectroscopically.

Astronomers have discovered something surprising about the universe's smallest and faintest class of galaxies: Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs). A research team studying these galaxies found that around half of the ones they investigated showed signs of motion that defy previous theories about the formation and evolution of such realms. In particular, the team found an unexpected rotational motion of stars within many of these dwarf galaxies.

Read original article