Why is the Hercules Dwarf Galaxy so flat?

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The Hercules Dwarf Galaxy has truly exceptional properties: while basically all of its known peers in the realm of these tiny dwarf galaxies are rather round this galaxy at a distance of 430000 Light Years appears highly flattened either the shape of ...
The Hercules Dwarf Galaxy has truly exceptional properties: while basically all of its known peers in the realm of these tiny dwarf galaxies are rather round, this galaxy at a distance of 430,000 Light Years appears highly flattened, either the shape of a disk or of a cigar. Credit: LBT Corporation

Through some of the very first scientific observations with the brand-new Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona, an international team of astronomers has found that a recently discovered tiny companion galaxy to our Milky Way, named the Hercules Dwarf Galaxy, has truly exceptional properties: while basically all of its known peers in the realm of these tiny dwarf galaxies are rather round, this galaxy at a distance of 430,000 Light Years appears highly flattened, either the shape of a disk or of a cigar.


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