Key Information
FCC 224
| Type | Ultra-diffuse Galaxy |
| Diameter | 12,320 light years |
| Distance | 60 to 65 million light years |
| Total Stars | About 1 billion stars |
| Date of Discovery | 1989 (Henry C. Ferguson) |
Learning Point
- FCC 224 is a cosmic “ghost” located 60 million light-years away in the Fornax Cluster. As an Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy, it is nearly as wide as the Milky Way but contains a thousand times fewer stars, making it appear as a faint, transparent smudge. Most shockingly, recent Hubble data suggests it may completely lack dark matter—the invisible “glue” that usually holds galaxies together. By studying its strange, ancient globular clusters, astronomers are trying to understand how this fluffy, “naked” galaxy survived without the dark matter support system that scientists once thought was mandatory.
Project
- Draw a picture of FCC 224.
- Overview
Location
| Located in | Fornax constellation |
Fun Facts
- FCC 224 is so faint and spread out that scientists call it an Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy. It’s like a giant, see-through cloud in space—you can look right through it to see the stars behind it!
- This galaxy is a senior citizen of the universe! Scientists estimate it is about 10 billion years old, which means it formed way back when the universe was still very young.
- Inside this ghost-like galaxy are 12 super-bright star groups called Globular Clusters. They look like glowing blue marbles floating in a faint fog, and they are much heavier than normal star clusters.
- Astronomers think FCC 224 might have been born from a giant collision between two other galaxies. The crash was so powerful it may have knocked all the dark matter away!
- Scientists think FCC 224 might have a long-lost twin brother nearby called FCC 240. They look almost exactly the same and might have been created in the same cosmic accident.
Past Lessons
| 255 | March 16, 2026 | (North America) |