Mapping Our Galaxy in Unprecedented Detail: Why the Milky Way Needs a New Stellar Census
The paper argues that fully understanding how the Milky Way formed requires a new, Galaxy-wide map that combines stellar motions, chemistry, and ages. Current and planned surveys lack the precision and coverage needed, especially in the disc midplane and bulge. The authors propose a future large spectroscopic facility to finally reconstruct the Milky Way’s formation and evolution in detail.
Discovering Dwarf Galaxy Satellites: The Satellite Census of NGC 2403
Jeffrey L. Carlin and his team studied the dwarf galaxies around NGC 2403, an LMC-sized galaxy, as part of the MADCASH survey. Using deep imaging, they identified two true satellite galaxies, DDO 44 and MADCASH-1, and confirmed their detection sensitivity for galaxies as faint as -7.5 magnitude. Their findings align with theoretical predictions and offer a foundation for understanding satellite galaxy populations around galaxies like NGC 2403, paving the way for future surveys to reveal more faint, distant dwarf galaxies.