Pisces Overdensity

Not to be confused with Pisces Dwarf.
Pisces Overdensity
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationPisces
Right ascension23h 19m 00s[1]
Declination+00° 00′ 00″[1]
Distance260 kly (80 kpc)[2]
Absolute magnitude (V)−10.35[3]
Characteristics
TypedIrr/dSph[3]
Apparent size (V)~1°[4]
Other designations
Pisces Plume[1]

The Pisces Overdensity is a clump of stars in the Milky Way's halo, which may be a disrupted dwarf spheroidal galaxy.[5] It is situated in the Pisces constellation and was discovered in 2009 by analysis of distribution of RR Lyrae stars in the data obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's data.[2] The galaxy is located at the distance of about 80 kpc from the Sun and moves towards it with a speed of about 75 km/s.[4]

The Pisces Overdensity is one of the faintest satellites of the Milky Way.[5] Its mass is estimated to be at least 105 Solar masses.[2] However it has a large size of about several degrees (around 1 kpc) and may be in a transitional phase between a gravitationally bound galaxy and completely unbound system.[4] The Pisces Overdensity is located near the plane, where the Magellanic Clouds lie. There may exist a connection between the Magellanic stream and this galaxy.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference SIMBAD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Watkins2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Boyer2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Kollmeier2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Belokurov2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).