Faint young stars reveal spiral galaxy Messier 74 may be twice as large as thought
Astronomers have discovered a faint population of young stars extending far beyond the known edge of the nearby spiral galaxy Messier 74. The finding suggests the galaxy is nearly twice as large as previously measured. The new study was published Sept. 4 in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Astronomers have discovered a faint, blue stellar population far beyond the known edge of the nearby spiral galaxy Messier 74, suggesting the galaxy is nearly twice as large as previously thought. This finding, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, was made using deep optical imaging from the Transient Survey Telescope at the Teide Observatory, which detected light 100 times fainter than standard optical surveys.
The newly identified stars, ranging in age from 260 million to over 1 billion years old, align with the galaxy's extended ultraviolet disk and neutral hydrogen gas disk. Researchers propose that a gravitational encounter with a satellite galaxy likely triggered the recent burst of star formation in the outer regions of Messier 74.
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