The Milky Way galaxy, our home galaxy, has long been a subject of interest and curiosity among scientists. A team of researchers from the University of Utah, Yale University, and Stanford University has completed a comprehensive survey to study 101 galaxies similar to the Milky Way. The Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) Survey provides new insights into the uniqueness of our galaxy after analyzing satellite systems.
The SAGA Survey is designed to characterize systems around other host galaxies that have similar stellar masses as the Milky Way Galaxy. Researchers found that some galaxies, including ours, tend to have fewer satellites than expected. This “outlier” status may be attributed to environmental factors shaping the life cycle of small satellite galaxies.
To better understand galaxy evolution, the SAGA team also explored whether these satellite galaxies are still forming stars. They discovered that those located closer to their host galaxies were more likely to have their star formation suppressed. Additionally, the researchers used the survey results to improve existing theoretical models of galaxy formation, predicting quenched galaxies should exist in isolated environments.
In a significant contribution to the astronomy community, the SAGA Survey team published new distance measurements for about 46,000 galaxies. These findings will enable scientists to study a wide range of topics beyond satellite galaxies, advancing our understanding of galaxy evolution and the universe as a whole.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/09/240925144014.htm