Segue 2

Segue 2 Dwarf Galaxy^[1]
Segue 2 Dwarf Galaxy
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Aries
Right ascension	02h 19m 16s
Declination	+20° 10′ 31″
Distance	114 kly (35 kpc)
Apparent magnitude (V)	15.2 ± 0.2
Characteristics
Type	dSph
Mass	5.5×105 M☉
Mass/Light ratio	650 M☉/L☉
Apparent size (V)	6.8+0.4; −0.4′
Other designations
	Segue 2, PGC 4713565

Last updated December 17, 2023

Segue 2 is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy situated in the constellation Aries and discovered in 2009 in the data obtained by Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy is located at the distance of about 35 kiloparsecs (35,000 parsecs ; 110,000 light-years ) from the Sun and moves towards the Sun at a speed of 40 kilometres per second (25 mi/s). It is classified as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph), meaning that it has an approximately round shape with a half-light radius of about 34 parsecs.

The name is due to the fact that it was found by the SEGUE program, the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration.

Segue 2 is one of the smallest and faintest satellites of the Milky Way—its integrated luminosity is about 800 times that of the Sun (absolute visible magnitude of about −2.5), which is much lower than the luminosity of the majority of globular clusters. However, the mass of the galaxy—about 550,000 solar masses—is substantial, corresponding to a mass-to-light ratio of about 650.

The stellar population of Segue 2 consists mainly of old stars formed more than 12 billion years ago. The metallicity of these old stars is also very low at [Fe/H] < −2, which means that they contain at least 100 times less heavy elements than the Sun. The stars of Segue 2 were probably among the first stars to form in the universe. Currently, there is no star formation in Segue 2.

Segue 2 is located near the edge of Sagittarius Stream and at the same distance. It may once have been a satellite of Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy or its star cluster.

In June 2013 The Astrophysical Journal reported that Segue 2 was bound together with dark matter.

Around 1,000 stars are supposed to exist within the galaxy.

Related Research Articles

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−10 pc.

Coma Berenices or Com is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy situated in the Coma Berenices constellation and discovered in 2006 in data obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy is located at the distance of about 44 kpc from the Sun and moves away from the Sun with the velocity of about 98 km/s. It is classified as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph) meaning that it has an elliptical shape with the half-light radius of about 70 pc.

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Hercules, or Her, is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy situated in the Hercules constellation and discovered in 2006 in data obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy is located at a distance of about 140 kpc from the Sun and moves away from the Sun with a velocity of about 45 km/s. It is classified as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph). It has a noticeably elongated shape with a half-light radius of about 350 pc. This elongation may be caused by tidal forces acting from the Milky Way galaxy, meaning that Her is being tidally disrupted now. Her also shows some gradient of velocities across the galaxy's body and is embedded into a faint stellar stream, which also points towards its ongoing tidal disruption.

Boötes III is an overdensity in the Milky Way's halo, which may be a disrupted dwarf spheroidal galaxy. It is situated in the constellation Boötes and was discovered in 2009 in the data obtained by Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy is located at the distance of about 46 kpc from the Sun and moves away from it at the speed of about 200 km/s. It has an elongated shape with the radius of about 0.5 kpc. The large size and an irregular shape may indicate that Boötes III in a transitional phase between a gravitationally bound galaxy and completely unbound system.

Pisces II is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy situated in the Pisces constellation and discovered in 2010 in the data obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy is located at the distance of about 180 kpc (kiloparsecs) from the Sun. It is classified as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph) meaning that it has an elongated shape with the half-light radius of about 60 pc and ratio of the axis of about 5:3.

Leo T is a dwarf galaxy situated in the Leo constellation and discovered in 2006 in the data obtained by Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy is located at the distance of about 420 kpc from the Sun and moves away from the Sun with the velocity of about 35 km/s. The velocity with respect to the Milky Way is around −60 km/s implying a slow infall onto the Milky Way. Leo T is classified as a transitional object between dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSph) and dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrr). Its half-light radius is about 180 pc.

The Eridanus II Dwarf is a low-surface brightness dwarf galaxy in the constellation Eridanus. Eridanus II was independently discovered by two groups in 2015, using data from the Dark Energy Survey. This galaxy is probably a distant satellite of the Milky Way. Li et al., 2016. Eridanus II contains a centrally located globular cluster; and is the smallest, least luminous galaxy known to contain a globular cluster. Crnojević et al., 2016. Eridanus II is significant, in a general sense, because the widely accepted Lambda CDM cosmology predicts the existence of many more dwarf galaxies than have yet been observed. The search for just such bodies was one of the motivations for the ongoing Dark Energy Survey observations. Eridanus II has special significance because of its apparently stable globular cluster. The stability of this cluster, near the center of such a small, diffuse, galaxy places constraints on the nature of dark matter. Brandt 2016.

References

1 2 3 "NAME Segue 2". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2016-08-24.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Belokurov, V.; Walker, M.G.; Evans, N.W.; et al. (2009). "Segue 2: A Prototype of the Population of Satellites of Satellites". Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 397 (4): 1748–1755. arXiv: 0903.0818 . Bibcode:2009MNRAS.397.1748B. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15106.x. S2CID 20051174.

Preceded by Willman 1	Least massive galaxy known 2013 – 550,000 M_Sun	Succeeded by current

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[simbad-1] 1 2 3 "NAME Segue 2". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2016-08-24.

[Belokurov2009-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Belokurov, V.; Walker, M.G.; Evans, N.W.; et al. (2009). "Segue 2: A Prototype of the Population of Satellites of Satellites". Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 397 (4): 1748–1755. arXiv: 0903.0818 . Bibcode:2009MNRAS.397.1748B. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15106.x. S2CID 20051174.

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