Leo II (dwarf galaxy)
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Leo II (or Leo B) is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy about 690,000 light-years away in the constellation Leo. It is one of 24 known satellite galaxies of the Milky Way.[1] Leo II is thought to have a core radius of 178 ± 13 pc and a tidal radius of 632 ± 32 pc.[2] It was discovered in 1950 by Robert George Harrington and Albert George Wilson, from the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories in California.
In 2007 a team of 15 scientists observed Leo II through the 8.2 meter Subaru optical-infrared telescope in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Over 2 nights, 90 minutes of exposures were taken and 82,252 stars were detected down to a visible magnitude of 26. They found that Leo II consists largely of metal-poor older stars, a sign that it has survived the galactic cannibalism under which massive galaxies (e.g., the Milky Way) consume smaller galaxies to attain their extensive size.[3]
Observation at ESO estimates Leo II's mass to be (2.7 ± 0.5)×107 M⊙.[4]
See also
- Dwarf galaxy
- Local Group, a description of the group of galaxies that includes the Milky Way.
References
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External links
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