In Pursuit of the Least Luminous Galaxies
The dwarf galaxy companions to the Milky Way are unique cosmological laboratories. With luminosities as low as 10−7LMW, they inhabit the lowest mass dark matter halos known to host stars and are presently the most direct tracers of the distribution, mass spectrum, and clustering scale of dark matter...
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Hindawi Limited
2010-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in Astronomy |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/285454 |
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doaj-8fa266f3b63a43fcbfa166a1153092682020-11-25T01:01:17ZengHindawi LimitedAdvances in Astronomy1687-79691687-79772010-01-01201010.1155/2010/285454285454In Pursuit of the Least Luminous GalaxiesBeth Willman0Department of Astronomy, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 19041, USAThe dwarf galaxy companions to the Milky Way are unique cosmological laboratories. With luminosities as low as 10−7LMW, they inhabit the lowest mass dark matter halos known to host stars and are presently the most direct tracers of the distribution, mass spectrum, and clustering scale of dark matter. Their resolved stellar populations also facilitate detailed studies of their history and mass content. To fully exploit this potential requires a well-defined census of virtually invisible galaxies to the faintest possible limits and to the largest possible distances. I review the past and present impacts of survey astronomy on the census of Milky Way dwarf galaxy companions and discuss the future of finding ultra-faint dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way and beyond in wide-field survey data.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/285454 |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Beth Willman |
| spellingShingle |
Beth Willman In Pursuit of the Least Luminous Galaxies Advances in Astronomy |
| author_facet |
Beth Willman |
| author_sort |
Beth Willman |
| title |
In Pursuit of the Least Luminous Galaxies |
| title_short |
In Pursuit of the Least Luminous Galaxies |
| title_full |
In Pursuit of the Least Luminous Galaxies |
| title_fullStr |
In Pursuit of the Least Luminous Galaxies |
| title_full_unstemmed |
In Pursuit of the Least Luminous Galaxies |
| title_sort |
in pursuit of the least luminous galaxies |
| publisher |
Hindawi Limited |
| series |
Advances in Astronomy |
| issn |
1687-7969 1687-7977 |
| publishDate |
2010-01-01 |
| description |
The dwarf galaxy companions to the Milky Way are unique cosmological laboratories. With luminosities as low as 10−7LMW, they inhabit the lowest mass dark matter halos known to host stars and are presently the most direct tracers of the distribution, mass spectrum, and clustering scale of dark matter. Their resolved stellar populations also facilitate detailed studies of their history and mass content. To fully exploit this potential requires a well-defined census of virtually invisible galaxies to the faintest possible limits and to the largest possible distances. I review the past and present impacts of survey astronomy on the census of Milky Way dwarf galaxy companions and discuss the future of finding ultra-faint dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way and beyond in wide-field survey data. |
| url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/285454 |
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AT bethwillman inpursuitoftheleastluminousgalaxies |
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