dwarf galaxy

American  

[dwawrf gal-uhk-see] / ˈdwɔrf ˌgæl ək si /

noun

dwarf galaxies plural

1. Astronomy. a comparatively small, dim galaxy containing relatively few stars for a galaxy.

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dwarf galaxy Scientific  

1. A small, dim galaxy, intermediate in size between a regular galaxy and a globular cluster. Like larger galaxies, dwarf galaxies are classified as elliptical, spiral, or irregular based on their shape. The closest known galaxy to the Milky Way is a dwarf galaxy in Canis Major that is believed to be losing stars to ours. Many astronomers think that most of the large galaxies seen today were formed either by collisions of dwarf galaxies, which formed first in the aftermath of the Big Bang, or by larger galaxies attracting material away from dwarf galaxies.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dwarf galaxies
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dwarf galaxy

"If certain theories of dark matter are true, we should see it in every galaxy, for example in every dwarf galaxy," explains Krnjaic.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2026

Yet recent images captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope seem to contradict that notion by showing protoplanetary disks in a dwarf galaxy adjacent to our own Milky Way, the Small Magellanic Cloud.

From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2024

A neighboring dwarf galaxy ripped off one of NGC 6744’s arms.

From New York Times ● May 23, 2024

SN1987A is sited a mere 170,000 light-years from us in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy adjacent to our own Milky Way Galaxy.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2023

One alternative possibility she suggests is that Peekaboo, as a dwarf galaxy, has a relatively weak gravitational pull that allowed its heavy metals to be expelled by galactic winds.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 24, 2023