Abstract
In this Letter, we announce the discovery of a new dwarf satellite of the Milky Way, located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was found as a stellar overdensity in the north Galactic cap using Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 (SDSS DR5). The satellite's color-magnitude diagram shows a well-defined red giant branch as well as a horizontal branch. As judged from the tip of the red giant branch, it lies at a distance of ∼220 kpc. Based on the SDSS data, we estimate an absolute magnitude of Mv ∼ -7.9, a central surface brightness of μ0,v ∼ 28 mag arcsec -2, and a half-light radius of ∼8′.!5 (∼550 pc at the measured distance). The outer regions of Canes Venatici appear extended and distorted. The discovery of such a faint galaxy in proximity to the Milky Way strongly suggests that more such objects remain to be found.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | L103-L106 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
Volume | 643 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2006 |
Externally published | Yes |