29
May 2003
Dwarf galaxies: Tide mark
A recent spectroscopic survey of the Fornax galaxy cluster revealed a population of objects previously overlooked as foreground stars, but with properties characteristic of either super-massive star clusters or a previously unrecognized type of compact galaxy. New observations with the Hubble Space Telescope, ESO's Very Large Telescope and the Keck II Telescope now show that these objects represent a new class of ultra-compact dwarf galaxy. They have similar sizes and dynamics to the nuclei found inside some normal dwarf galaxies, so may be the remnant nuclei of tidally disrupted galaxies.
A class of compact dwarf galaxies from disruptive processes
in galaxy clusters
M. J. DRINKWATER, M. D. GREGG,
M. HILKER, K. BEKKI, W. J. COUCH, H. C. FERGUSON, J. B. JONES & S. PHILLIPPS
Nature 423, 519–521 (2003); doi:10.1038/nature01666
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