Vera C. Rubin Observatory spots faint satellite galaxy Aquarius IV

Astronomers have found a previously unknown dwarf galaxy, Aquarius IV, orbiting the Milky Way's outskirts using early test data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. It lies about 359,000 light-years from the galactic center, has a mass of roughly 1,500 suns and an absolute magnitude of -1.9.

• Galaxy sits about 359,000 light-years from the Milky Way's center
• Aquarius IV's mass is estimated at roughly 1,500 suns
• Absolute magnitude of -1.9 makes it 14 million times dimmer than the Milky Way
• Findings came from EDP2 test data covering about 7% of the sky