The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy -- also known as the Sculptor Dwarf Elliptical or the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal - is one of the fourteen neighboring galaxies that orbit our Milky Way. A new image taken by the 2.2-meter MPG/ESO telescope at European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory, shows the smaller, older galaxy (which is no easy task, due to its faintness), according to a press release.
The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy (not to be confused with the brighter Sculptor galaxy, NCG 253) is one of the "galactic hitchhikers" that orbit in the Milky Way's galactic halo, which is a spherical region outside the arms of the spiral. This old-timer of a galaxy is located in the southern constellation of Sculptor and is located about 280,000 light-years away from Earth. Even though it is relatively close, the galaxy was first spotted in 1937 due to its faint and spread out stars.
Since most of the stars in the dwarf galaxy are very old, the primordial galaxy is prime for study. "In a recent study, astronomers combined all the data available for the galaxy to create the most accurate star formation history ever determined for a dwarf spheroidal galaxy," according to ESO. "This analysis revealed two distinct groups of stars in the galaxy. The first, predominant group is the older population, which is lacking in heavier elements. The second, smaller population, in contrast, is rich with heavy elements. Like young people crowding into city centers, this youthful stellar population is concentrated toward the galaxy's core."
