In the huge universe, full of stars, planets, and galaxies, scientists have found something very small and very exciting — a galaxy called Ursa Major III. It is one of the smallest galaxies ever discovered, and it tells us a lot about how the universe works.
Ursa Major III (UMa III) is a dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, the smallest and faintest ever discovered.
What is Ursa Major III?
Ursa Major III is a tiny and faint galaxy that moves around our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Most galaxies have billions or even trillions of stars. But Ursa Major III has only about 60 stars. That is very, very small for a galaxy.
The Milky Way, which is our home galaxy, has hundreds of billions of stars. So, you can imagine how small Ursa Major III really is compared to it.
How did scientists find Ursa Major III?
Ursa Major III was found by astronomers in 2024 using very strong telescopes in Hawaii and Chile. These scientists were part of a research team working with the DECam Local Volume Exploration survey (DELVE), a special project that looks for very faint and distant things in the sky.
While studying the night sky, the team saw a very dim group of stars that didn’t match anything they had seen before. After studying it more closely, they realized it was a new and extremely small galaxy.
Why is it important?
Ursa Major III is important for many reasons:
- Size: It is only about 19.6 light-years wide, which makes it one of the smallest galaxies ever found.
- Light: It is very faint and hard to see. Scientists say it has the lowest brightness ever recorded in a galaxy.
- Age: The stars in Ursa Major III are very old — around 11 billion years old. That means this galaxy has been around since the early days of the universe.
Even though Ursa Major III is small, it can help scientists understand big questions about space. For example, it can tell us how galaxies like the Milky Way grew bigger over time, and how small galaxies might have joined larger ones.
What’s next?
Scientists think there may be even more tiny galaxies like Ursa Major III hiding in the sky. As technology gets better, they hope to find more of them. Each small discovery brings us closer to learning how the universe began and how it is changing.
Final Thoughts
Ursa Major III proves that small things can be full of mystery and meaning. It may be tiny, but it plays an important role in helping us understand the big picture of space. At Smallestinthe.com, we love exploring the smallest wonders in the world — and the universe too!
