Dwarf Galaxies Shed Light On Dark Matter

A sighting of clustered dwarf galaxies can explain the existence of larger ones like our very own Milky Way, thanks to the existence of dark matter, researchers said.

Bundled galaxies were said to have been discovered using the largest optical survey ever compiled. In the study, Yahoo reported that seven clusteres of three to five galaxies -- each about 10 to 1,000 times smaller than our Milky Way -- were found. However, it seemed as though they have stopped giving birth to new stars.

Lead author Sabrina Stierwalt, an astrophysicist at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlotteville, Virginia, shared, "We suspect these groups are gravitationally bound and thus will eventually merge to form one larger, intermediate-mass galaxy." She also explained that these findings could shed light as to how structures were able to form in the early universe.

There had been theories that after the Big bang, smaller things joined together to form bigger ones, thus the galaxies. But there had been little evidence for such mergers. According to News Australia, one reason for this is the fact that dwarf galaxies are hard to see, and so far, only two are visible to the naked eye.

Later on, telescopes were used to confirm findings regarding black matter, and it was noted that they can only be inferred through their gravitational pull on other objects that are already found in space. Dwarf galaxies are the best bet to understanding dark matter as it tends to have more compared to larger galaxies. Its gravitational force can hold such clusters together. Its size and age are also said to offer less debris such as gas and dust, therefore making them ideal as hunting grounds for dark matter.

To date, astronomers are still searching for such material using gamma ray detecting telescopes, based on the theory that dark matter particles may be able to produce gamma rays as they decay in space.