Related papers: The Densest Galaxy
Stellar photometry in nine fields around the giant elliptical galaxy M87 in the Virgo cluster is obtained from archival images of the Hubble Space Telescope. The resulting Hertzsprung--Russell diagrams show populated red-giant and AGB…
Besides giant elliptical galaxies, a number of low-mass stellar systems inhabit the cores of galaxy clusters, such as dwarf elliptical galaxies (dEs/dSphs), ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs), and globular clusters. The detailed…
Diffuse elliptical galaxies (or dwarfs) are the numerically dominant population in clusters like Virgo and Fornax. They carry only a few percent of the baryonic mass but are very sensitive to the environment; so they keep a fossil record of…
We use deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging to derive a distance to the Virgo Cluster ultradiffuse galaxy (UDG) VCC 615 using the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) distance estimator. We detect 5,023 stars within the galaxy, down to a 50%…
Most ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) and very massive globular clusters reside in nearby galaxy clusters or around nearby giant galaxies. Due to their distance (>Mpc) and compactness (r_eff<100pc) they are barely resolved, and thus it…
The dense central regions of tidally disrupted galaxies can survive as ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) that hide among the luminous globular clusters (GCs) in the halo of massive galaxies. An exciting confirmation of this model is the detection…
M dwarf stars, which have masses less than 60 per cent that of the Sun, make up 75 per cent of the population of the stars in the Galaxy [1]. The atmospheres of orbiting Earth-sized planets are observationally accessible via transmission…
Here, we present a kinematical analysis of the Virgo cluster ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) VCC 1287 based on data taken with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI). We confirm VCC 1287's association both with the Virgo cluster and its globular…
In this work, we extend the catalog of low-surface brightness (LSB) galaxies, including Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy (UDG) candidates, within $\approx 0.4R_{vir}$ of the Hydra I cluster of galaxies, based on deep images from the VST Early-type…
We announce the discovery of the Crater 2 dwarf galaxy, identified in imaging data of the VST ATLAS survey. Given its half-light radius of ~1100 pc, Crater 2 is the fourth largest dwarf in the Milky Way, surpassed only by the LMC, SMC and…
We report the discovery of a new ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) associated with a globular cluster in the elliptical galaxy NGC 4649. The X-ray source was initially detected with a luminosity below 5 x 10^38 erg/s, but in subsequent…
A spectroscopic follow up of Ultra-Compact Dwarf (UCD) candidates in the fossil group NGC 1132 is undertaken with the Gemini Multi Object Spectrograph (GMOS). These new Gemini spectra prove the presence of six UCDs in the fossil group NGC…
We present a kinematic analysis of the globular cluster(GC) system in the giant elliptical galaxy (gE) NGC 4636 in the Virgo cluster. Using the photometric and spectroscopic database of 238 GCs, we have investigated the kinematics of the GC…
We have analyzed archival HST/ACS images in Sloan g and z of the globular cluster (GC) systems of 53 ellipticals in the Virgo Cluster, spanning massive galaxies to dEs. Among the new results are: (1) In the gEs M87 and NGC 4649, there is a…
We present newly discovered dwarf galaxy candidates in deep and wide-field images of NGC 1291 obtained with the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network. We identify 15 dwarf galaxy candidates by visual inspection. Using imaging simulations, we…
Deep images of the Centaurus and Coma clusters reveal two spectacular arcs of diffuse light that stretch for over 100 kpc, yet are just a few kpc wide. At a surface brightness of m_b \sim 27-28th arcsec^-2, the Centaurus arc is the most…
We have obtained high-resolution spectra of 23 ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) in the Fornax cluster with -10.4>M_V>-13.5 mag (10^6<M/M_*<10^8), using FLAMES/Giraffe at the VLT. This is the largest homogeneous data set of UCD internal…
We report the discovery of 47 low surface brightness objects in deep images of a 3 x 3 degree field centered on the Coma cluster, obtained with the Dragonfly Telephoto Array. The objects have central surface brightness mu(g,0) ranging from…
A recent all-object spectroscopic survey centred on the Fornax cluster of galaxies, has discovered a population of sub-luminous and extremely compact members, called ``ultra-compact dwarf'' (UCD) galaxies. In order to clarify the origin of…
We report our optical spectroscopic study of the nucleus and its surrounding region of a nearby luminous infrared galaxy NGC 4418. This galaxy has been known to host a compact obscured nucleus, showing distinct characteristics such as a…