LAMOST Discovered Over 1,500 Compact Galaxies

Of the 1,417 new compact galaxies, 739 are Green Pea galaxies, 270 are Blueberry galaxies, and 388 are Purple Grape galaxies. These classes of stellar systems have received such strange names relatively recently because of their appearance.

LAMOST Discovered Over 1,500 Compact Galaxies
Image: Richard Nowell and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Based on the results of the LAMOST DR9 sky survey, Chinese scientists have published data on 1,547 compact galaxies. 1,417 of them were observed for the first time.

Scientists point to many stellar systems belonging to classes with exotic names like Green Peas, Blueberry, and Purple Grape.

The article, published in The Astrophysical Journal, provides not only data on the discoveries, but also the characteristics of compact galaxies. These are all relatively small objects, with masses ranging from 310 thousand to 10 billion solar masses. The most distant of these stellar systems is 9 billion light-years away.

Of the 1,417 new compact galaxies, 739 are Green Pea galaxies, 270 are Blueberry galaxies, and 388 are Purple Grape galaxies. These classes of stellar systems have received such strange names relatively recently because of their appearance.