Research
A graduate student’s team found a faint galaxy candidate in Rubin Observatory test data, and hundreds more may still be hiding
Earth.com · By Adrian Villellas ·
The Brief
- On July 27, 2026, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile released its second batch of test data.
- Seven days later, Yale graduate student William Cerny and colleagues posted a paper describing a Milky Way companion, named Aquarius IV.
- The source says hundreds more faint galaxy candidates may still be hidden in the data.
Why it matters
The find shows that Rubin's early test data can reveal faint satellite galaxies around the Milky Way, which matters for mapping the galaxy's dwarf companions and testing models of galaxy formation.
Who’s affected
- astronomers studying Milky Way satellite galaxies
- researchers planning analyses of Rubin Observatory survey data
- #astronomy
- #rubin observatory
- #milky way
- #dwarf galaxies
- #galaxy discovery
On July 27, 2026, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory on Cerro Pachón in Chile released its second batch of test data. Seven days later, Yale graduate student William Cerny and his colleagues posted a paper about the discovery of a Milky Way companion. They named it Aquarius IV. It…
Timeline
Vera C. Rubin Observatory releases its second batch of test data
Cerny and colleagues post a paper announcing the Milky Way companion Aquarius IV
Earth.com
A graduate student’s team found a faint galaxy candidate in Rubin Observatory test data, and hundreds more may still be hiding