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

Inflected Forms

noun

• dwarf galaxies
  plural

Example Sentences

Its true identity is still uncertain: it could be a dense clump of dark matter, roughly 100 times smaller than any previously detected, or possibly an extremely compact, inactive dwarf galaxy.

From Science Daily • Oct. 11, 2025

Because of the optical haze in Nube, Dr. Montes said, astronomers can see the shape of the dark-matter halo that underlies the dwarf galaxy.

From New York Times • Jan. 26, 2024

A leading theory is that the Milky Way's collision with a dwarf galaxy nearly 10 billion years ago was a turning point, setting in motion the changes that amounted to our modern galaxy.

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2023

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