Durham Predicts Dozens More Milky Way Satellites

Researchers at Durham University have predicted that the Milky Way could host 80 to 100 additional satellite galaxies, potentially doubling the current count of known satellites. Using high-resolution supercomputer simulations and advanced mathematical modeling, the team identified extremely faint 'orphan' galaxies stripped of their dark matter halos by the Milky Way's gravity. These elusive satellites are largely undetectable with current methods. Discovering them with next-generation telescopes would either confirm or challenge the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model, which explains the universe's structure and galaxy formation. LCDM proposes that only 5% of the universe is ordinary matter, with the rest being dark matter and dark energy. New instruments, such as those at the Rubin Observatory, are expected to enable detection of these galaxies within five years.