Scientists Solve The Mystery Of A Galaxy Lacking Dark Matter

Last year scientific circles were abuzz with reports of a galaxy that was claimed to have no dark matter in it. Current theories hold that dark matter is fundamental in causing the collapse of gas to form stars in galaxies. A new article published by researchers from Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) claims to have solved the mystery.

The scientists at IAC claim that after making a complete set of observations of KKS2000]04 (NGC1052-DF2), previously called "the galaxy without dark matter," they have solved the mystery. The team says that parameters dependent on the distance of the galaxy were anomalous, the team has revised the distance indicators.

The team used five different distance indicators taken with five independent methods to estimate the distance of the galaxy. The team found that all coincided with one conclusion – the galaxy is much nearer than the value presented in previous research. The team says that the original article about the galaxy uses a distance of 64 million light years from Earth.

According to the IAC team, the galaxy is actually much closer at around 42 million light years. When the calculations were rerun using the new distance, the galaxy is now deemed normal and fits observed trends of galaxies with similar characteristics.

The team says that the new data has found that the total mass of this galaxy is around half the mass previously estimated. The mass of the star is only about a quarter of the previously estimated mass. The new findings imply that a significant part of the total mass of the galaxy must be made of dark matter. The team says that the new work shows the importance of correct measurement of extragalactic distances.