David Aguilar
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Christine Pulliam
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Press Release

Release No.: 2006-15For Release: Wednesday, May 17, 2006
When Dwarfs Gave Way to Giants
dwarf galaxy
The first dwarf galaxies to form in the universe sabotaged their own growth and that of their siblings by ionizing surrounding hydrogen gas. Early galaxies were small, containing only 100 million solar masses of material. Later galaxies required at least 10 billion solar masses to be assembled. This artist's conception shows a collection of hot, blue stars comprising an early dwarf galaxy surrounded by red hydrogen gas.
Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA)
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