The team used the Keck Observatorys Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph to confirm that the stars were gravitationally tied together.
The mass of the entire system is just 16 times that of the Sun.
This discovery may challenge our understanding of galaxy formation and perhaps even the definition of a galaxy.
A deep sky image of the region holding the star cluster (left) and the cluster itself (right).Image:CFHT/S. Gwyn (right) / S. Smith (left)
The dark matter acts as a gravitational glue, holding the stars in their group.
While scientists do not know what dark matter is, they observe its gravitational effects on visible matter.
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