Science & Exploration
Hubble discovers new type of astronomical object
A team using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a new type of astronomical object – a starless, gas-rich, dark-matter cloud that is considered a 'relic' or remnant of early galaxy formation. Nicknamed 'Cloud-9,' this is the first confirmed detection of such an object in the Universe.
This image shows the blank field of the surrounding region of Cloud-9, which is 14 million light-years from Earth. The image identifying its location can be found here.
[Image description: A dark field with stars and galaxies of various sizes speckled throughout the image. A particularly bright star is visible in the upper left region of the image.]
