New research suggests 100 hidden galaxies may be orbiting Milky Way

New research suggests that as many as 100 galaxies, too faint to be detected by current instruments, could be orbiting the Milky Way. These potential galaxies, dubbed "orphan" galaxies, may have remained hidden due to their low brightness.

The discovery was made by cosmologists at Durham University in England, who used an advanced technique that combines the world's highest-resolution supercomputer simulations with detailed mathematical modelling, ABC News reported.

The findings were presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham on Friday.

The simulations revealed clues pointing to the existence of numerous unseen satellite galaxies closely surrounding our own. If confirmed, this discovery could reshape our understanding of the Milky Way's structure and the number of galaxies in its immediate vicinity.

Isabel Santos-Santos, the lead researcher at Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, said: "We know the Milky Way has some 60 confirmed companion satellite galaxies, but we think there should be dozens more of these faint galaxies orbiting around the Milky Way at close distances."

If telescopes detect these galaxies, it would strongly support the Lambda Cold Dark Matter theory, the leading model of cosmology explaining how galaxies form and the large-scale structure of the universe, researchers said.

According to the model, galaxies form at the centres of massive clumps of dark matter known as halos. It also proposes that just 5% of the Universe is made up of ordinary matter, 25% is cold dark matter, and 70% is dark energy.

Most galaxies in the universe are low-mass dwarf galaxies that orbit larger ones like the Milky Way, astronomers said.

These satellite galaxies have long challenged the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) model, which predicts more companions than previous simulations could explain. However, the new technique enabled researchers to trace the number, spread, and characteristics of these faint "orphan" galaxies more accurately.

The model provides a "clear illustration" of the power of physics and mathematics, said Carlos Frenk, a co-researcher at the Institute for Computational Cosmology.

Current simulations lack the resolution to study faint satellite galaxies and their dark matter halos, leading to gaps in data, researchers said. If the predictions hold true, it would strengthen the ΛCDM model.