# A graduate student’s team found a faint galaxy candidate in Rubin Observatory test data, and hundreds more may still be hiding

Source: [Earth.com](https://www.earth.com/space/aquarius-iv-faint-galaxy-rubin-observatory/) · 2026-11-13 · Earth & Climate
Page: https://themorning.science/story/a-graduate-student-s-team-found-a-faint-galaxy-candidate-in-rubin-observatory-te-4db5d31fdd8c7ed1
Kind: research · Impact: low

## In 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.

## Timeline

- 2026-07-27: Vera C. Rubin Observatory releases its second batch of test data
- 2026-08-03: Cerny and colleagues post a paper announcing the Milky Way companion Aquarius IV

## Coverage

- [A graduate student’s team found a faint galaxy candidate in Rubin Observatory test data, and hundreds more may still be hiding](https://www.earth.com/space/aquarius-iv-faint-galaxy-rubin-observatory/) — Earth.com, 2026-11-13

Tags: astronomy, rubin observatory, milky way, dwarf galaxies, galaxy discovery

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science