The Enduring Mystery of the Dragonfly 44 Galaxy
A growing catalog of huge but dim galaxies such as Dragonfly 44 is forcing astronomers to invent new theories of galactic evolution. The post The Enduring Mystery of the Dragonfly 44 Galaxy first appeared on Quanta Magazine
In 2016, astronomers led by Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University published a bombshell paper claiming the discovery of a galaxy so dim, yet so broad and heavy, that it must be almost entirely invisible. They estimated that the galaxy, dubbed Dragonfly 44, is 99.99% dark matter. A heated debate ensued about Dragonfly 44’s properties that remains unresolved. Meanwhile, more than 1,000...
Originally published in Quanta Abstractions.
