satellite galaxy
noun
plural satellite galaxies
: a galaxy that is bound by the gravitational field of a larger galaxy and that is often too small to have a defined shape
Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way visible in the Southern Hemisphere, this exploding star was a mere 170,00 light years away.—
Lavinia Edmunds et al.
Lavinia Edmunds et al.Examples of satellite galaxy in a Sentence
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But the team found that the satellite galaxy has a gravitational pull, perpendicular to Andromeda, that changes the Milky Way’s motion enough to reduce the chance of a merger between the two giant galaxies.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 June 2025
If this is true, then our satellite galaxy is shooting stars at us!
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 22 May 2025
Our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, or M31) appears to sport a lopsided arrangement of satellite galaxies that defy scientific models, stumping astronomers who are also trying to figure out why so many of this galaxy's family members point in our direction.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2025
One confounding factor comes from two other LG galaxies: M33, a satellite galaxy, and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 3 June 2025
This satellite galaxy of our home Milky Way galaxy is about 200,000 light-years away in the constellation Tucana.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025
Its location, though, is suspicious: it’s located just three degrees from the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud (or LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2025
Measuring ongoing vibrations in the disk of the Milky Way — a kind of galactic seismology, Dr. Brown explained — has also led to evidence of an encounter with a satellite galaxy that orbits our own much more recently than scientists had believed.
—Katrina Miller, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is orbited by dozens of these satellite galaxies caught in the grip of its more immense galaxies.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 12 Mar. 2025
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Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 June 2025
If this is true, then our satellite galaxy is shooting stars at us!
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 22 May 2025
Our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, or M31) appears to sport a lopsided arrangement of satellite galaxies that defy scientific models, stumping astronomers who are also trying to figure out why so many of this galaxy's family members point in our direction.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2025
One confounding factor comes from two other LG galaxies: M33, a satellite galaxy, and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 3 June 2025
This satellite galaxy of our home Milky Way galaxy is about 200,000 light-years away in the constellation Tucana.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025
Its location, though, is suspicious: it’s located just three degrees from the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud (or LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2025
Measuring ongoing vibrations in the disk of the Milky Way — a kind of galactic seismology, Dr. Brown explained — has also led to evidence of an encounter with a satellite galaxy that orbits our own much more recently than scientists had believed.
—Katrina Miller, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is orbited by dozens of these satellite galaxies caught in the grip of its more immense galaxies.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 12 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Satellite galaxy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/satellite%20galaxy. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
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