Galaxy X discovered? Astronomers can now get a better understanding of dark matter

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A Dwarf Galaxy that was originally predicted back in 2009 may have finally been found. The mystery was initially brought up based on the ripples seen in our home galaxy's outer disk and now with the aid of the infrared capability of the VISTA telescope, those hypotheses may have finally been justified.

The observational confirmation was detailed in a research paper that is set for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. This was revealed by astronomer Sukanya Chakrabarti of the Rochester Institute of Technology who bared the findings in an email to NBC News.

Apparently, Chakrabarti and his team analyzed near infra-red data that was collected by the European Southern Observatory's telescope, something normally used for measuring astronomical distances.

In that observation, they revealed that the said stars are 300,000 light-years away which makes it pretty well beyond the Milky Way's disk.

Chakrabarti also added that spotting what they term as Galaxy X. But with the help of the VISTA telescope, he believes that they can now explore regions in the galaxy which would normally be inaccessible with visible light.

Dark matter has always been hypothetical and was something that was never really observed. It was something believed to account for most matter and mass in the universe prior to the findings. But now, is believed that with the discovery, astronomers can get a better understanding of what dark matter is all about.

The Milky Way has been known to have many satellite galaxies which are dominated by dark matter. They are difficult to see but now with the help of the VISTA telescope, all that could now be different.

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