#protogalaxy

Peering deep into the dim edges of a distorted pinwheel galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear), astronomers at Case Western Reserve Univ. and their colleagues have discovered a faint dwarf galaxy and another possible young dwarf caught before it had a chance to form any stars. Within the faint trails of intergalactic traffic, the researchers also found more evidence pointing to two already known dwarf galaxies as probable forces that pulled the pinwheel-shaped disk galaxy known as M101 out of shape. M101 is the dominant member in a group of 15 galaxies in Ursa Major. Most galaxies reside in such small-group environments, which means the factors shaping M101 are likely the same shaping most galaxies throughout the universe, the researchers say. Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/01/astronomers-see-nearby-dwarf-galaxy-possible-protogalaxy