Willman 1

Willman 1
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Ursa Major
Right ascension 10h 49m 22.3s[1]
Declination +51° 03′ 03.6″[1]
Distance 120 ± 20 kly (38 ± 7 kpc)[2]
Type

extreme dSph or

unusual star cluster[1]
Apparent dimensions (V) 4.6+0.4
−0.8′[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 15.2 ± 0.4[a]
Other designations
SDSS J1049+5103[1]

Willman 1 is an ultra low-luminosity dwarf galaxy or a star cluster.[3] Willman 1 was discovered in 2004.[4] It is named after Beth Willman of Haverford College, the lead author of a study based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. The object is a satellite of the Milky Way, at ~120,000 light-years away.[1] Willman 1 has an elliptical shape with the half-light radius of about 25 pc.[2] Its heliocentric velocity is approximately −13 km/s.[3]

As of 2007, it was declared the least massive galaxy known, opening up a new category of ultra-low-mass galaxies, lower than the then-theoretical minimum of 10 million solar masses thought to be needed to form a galaxy.[5]

As of 2011, it is the second dimmest likely galaxy known, after Segue 1, and is less than one ten millionth the Milky Way's luminosity. It has an absolute magnitude of −2.7 ± 0.7.[2] Observations indicate its mass is about 0.4 million solar masses, which means that Willman's 1 mass to light ratio is around 800.[3] A high mass to light ratio implies that Willman 1 is dominated by dark matter. It is difficult, however, to estimate the mass of such faint objects because any mass estimate is based on an implicit assumption that an object is gravitationally bound, which may not be true if the object is in a process of disruption.[3]

The stellar population of Willman 1 consists mainly of old stars formed more than 10 billion years ago.[1] The metallicity of these stars is also very low at [Fe/H] ≈ −2.1, which means that they contain 110 times less heavy elements than the Sun.[3]

Notes

a. ^ 15.2 ± 0.4 apparent magnitude − 5 * (log10(38 ± 7[2] kpc distance) − 1) = −2.7[2] absolute magnitude

References

Inline

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Willman et al. 2005)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 (Martin, De Jong & Rix 2008)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 (Willman et al. 2011)
  4. ↑ Space.com, "Puzzling Milky Way Companion Found", Robert Roy Britt, 25 October 2004 (accessed 12 June 2013)
  5. ↑ New Scientist, "Smallest galaxy hints at hidden population", David Shiga, 4 June 2007 (accessed 12 June 2013)

General

  • NED (9 January 2007), "Results for SDSS J1049+5103", NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) 
  • Martin, N. F.; De Jong, J. T. A.; Rix, H. W. (2008). "A Comprehensive Maximum Likelihood Analysis of the Structural Properties of Faint Milky Way Satellites". The Astrophysical Journal 684 (2): 1075. arXiv:0805.2945. Bibcode:2008ApJ...684.1075M. doi:10.1086/590336. 
  • Willman, Beth; Blanton, Michael R.; West, Andrew A.; Dalcanton, Julianne J.; Hogg, David W.; Schneider, Donald P.; Wherry, Nicholas; Yanny, Brian; Brinkmann, Jon (2005), "A New Milky Way Companion: Unusual Globular Cluster or Extreme Dwarf Satellite?", The Astronomical Journal 129 (6): 2692–2700, arXiv:astro-ph/0410416, Bibcode:2005AJ....129.2692W, doi:10.1086/430214 
  • Willman, Beth; Geha, Marla; Strader, Jay; Strigari, Louie; Simon, Josh; Kirby, Evan; Warres, Alex (October 2011), "Willman 1—A Probable Dwarf Galaxy with an Irregular Kinematic Distribution", AJ 142 (4): 128, arXiv:1007.3499, Bibcode:2011AJ....142..128W, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/142/4/128 
Preceded by
 Least massive galaxy known
2007 — 2013
500,000MSun 		Succeeded by
Segue 2

Coordinates: 10h 49m 22.3s, +51° 03′ 03.6″

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