| Authors | Zucker, D. B.; Belokurov, V.; Evans, N. W.; Wilkinson, M. I.; Irwin, M. J.; Sivarani, T.; Hodgkin, S.; Bramich, D. M.; Irwin, J. M.; Gilmore, G.; Willman, B.; Vidrih, S.; Fellhauer, M.; Hewett, P. C.; Beers, T. C.; Bell, E. F.; Grebel, E. K.; Schneider, D. P.; Newberg, H. J.; Wyse, R. F. G.; Rockosi, C. M.; Yanny, B.; Lupton, R.; Smith, J. A.; Barentine, J. C.; Brewington, H.; Brinkmann, J.; Harvanek, M.; Kleinman, S. J.; Krzesinski, J.; Long, D.; Nitta, A.; Snedden, S. A. |
| Abstract | In this Letter, we announce the discovery of a new dwarf satellite of the Milky Way, located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was found as a stellar overdensity in the north Galactic cap using Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 (SDSS DR5). The satellite's color-magnitude diagram shows a well-defined red giant branch as well as a horizontal branch. As judged from the tip of the red giant branch, it lies at a distance of ~220 kpc. Based on the SDSS data, we estimate an absolute magnitude of MV~-7.9, a central surface brightness of μ0,V~28 mag arcsec-2, and a half-light radius of ~8.5 arcmin (~550 pc at the measured distance). The outer regions of Canes Venatici appear extended and distorted. The discovery of such a faint galaxy in proximity to the Milky Way strongly suggests that more such objects remain to be found. |
