A new milky way dwarf satellite in canes venatici

D. B. Zucker*, V. Belokurov, N. W. Evans, M. I. Wilkinson, M. J. Irwin, T. Sivarani, S. Hodgkin, D. M. Bramich, J. M. Irwin, G. Gilmore, B. Willman, S. Vidrih, M. Fellhauer, P. C. Hewett, T. C. Beers, E. F. Bell, E. K. Grebel, D. P. Schneider, H. J. Newberg, R. F G WyseC. M. Rockosi, B. Yanny, R. Lupton, J. A. Smith, J. C. Barentine, H. Brewington, J. Brinkmann, M. Harvanek, S. J. Kleinman, J. Krzesinski, D. Long, A. Nitta, S. A. Snedden

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

318 Citations (Scopus)

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 languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L103-L106
Number of pages4
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume643
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2006
Externally publishedYes

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