Leo II (dwarf galaxy)

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Leo II
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Leo
Right ascension 11h 13m 29.2s [1]
Declination +22° 09′ 17″ [1]
Redshift 0.000264 (79 ± 1 km/s) [1]
Distance 690 ± 70 kly (210 ± 20 kpc)[2] [3]
Type E0 pec [1]
Apparent dimensions (V) 12.0 x 11.0 arcmin [1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 12.6 [1]
Other designations
PGC 34176, DDO 93
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

Leo II (or Leo B) is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy about 690,000 light-years away in the constellation Leo. As of October 2008 it is one of 24 known satellite galaxies of the Milky Way.[4] As of 2007 Leo II is thought to have a core radius of 178 ± 13 pc and a tidal radius of 632 ± 32 pc.[5] It was discovered in 1950 by Robert George Harrington and Albert George Wilson, from the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories in California.

Recent Findings

In 2007 a team of 15 scientists observed Leo II through the 8.2 meter Subaru optical-infrared telescope in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Over 2 nights, 90 minutes of exposures were taken and 82,252 stars were detected down to a visible magnitude of 26. They found that Leo II consists largely of metal-poor older stars, a sign that it has survived the galactic cannibalism under which massive galaxies (e.g., the Milky Way) consume smaller galaxies to attain their extensive size.[6]

Observation at ESO estimates Leo II's mass to be (2.7 ± 0.5)×107 M.[7]

See also

References

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Coordinates: Sky map 11h 13m 29.2s, +22° 09′ 17″

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