Shapiro Dwarf Galaxies I II III tagged posts

Undergraduate student may have solved puzzle regarding isolated galaxies that have stopped producing stars

Julian Shapiro poses in front of the Richard Treffers Telescope on the rooftop of UC Berkeley’s Campbell Hall.
Photo courtesy of Shannon Kelli

An undergraduate astrophysics student at UC Berkeley has found three unusual galaxies—cataloged as Shapiro Dwarf Galaxies I, II and III. Each galaxy is far from other galaxies and has stopped making stars, a combination that is extremely rare. The discovery, published in The Astrophysical Journal, provides compelling observational evidence of a long-held astronomical theory.

“Dwarf galaxies exist both in isolation and as satellites around larger galaxies like our own Milky Way,” said Julian Shapiro, the study’s sole author, who conducted his research while still in high school...

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