Ghost Galaxies⁘ Are Orbiting The Milky Way

Reference: Found here

The Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) theory suggests that most galaxies are low-mass dwarf galaxies, many of which orbit larger galaxies like the Milky Way. More broadly, the LCDM represents our best understanding of how the universe works.

But there's a problem. According to the theory, the Milky Way should have significantly more satellite galaxies than scientists have observed with telescopes and predicted with computer simulations.

By combining the highest-resolution supercomputer simulations to date with new mathematical modeling, cosmologists at Durham University in the U.K. suggest there might be up to 100 previously unidentified galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, effectively tracking down our galaxy's "missing" companions. If future telescopes detect these galaxies directly, it would further bolster the reliability of the LCDM theory, the most widely accepted standard model of large-scale cosmology.

"If the population of very faint satellites that we are predicting is discovered with new data, it would be a remarkable success of the LCDM theory of galaxy formation," Carlos Frenk, a cosmologist from Durham University, said in a university statement . "Using the laws of physics, solved using a large supercomputer, and mathematical modelling we can make precise predictions that astronomers, equipped with new, powerful telescopes, can test.

It doesn't get much better than this."

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