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Discovery of a Starless Galaxy Reported at AAS

7 January 2026

NASA Press Release

NASA’s Hubble Examines Cloud-9, First of New Type of Object

COPAG Executive Committee member Rachael Beaton shared the discovery of a starless galaxy during a press conference at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Phoenix.

This galaxy, named Cloud-9, was first discovered using radio telescopes. Follow-up observations with the Hubble Space Telescope searched for, and failed to find, stars commensurate with the radio-emitting gas. Such galaxies have long been theorized, and are thought to be mainly composed of dark matter.

The discovery of this relic cloud was a surprise. “Among our galactic neighbors, there might be a few abandoned houses out there,” said STScI’s Rachael Beaton, who is also on the research team.

Results have been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, see here.

Learn More about NASA’s Hubble Examines Cloud-9, First of New Type of Object
Magenta is radio data from the ground-based Very Large Array showing the presence of Cloud-9. The dashed circle marks the peak of radio emission, which is where researchers focused their search for stars. Hubble found no stars within Cloud-9. The few objects within its boundaries are background galaxies.
Credits: NASA, ESA, VLA, Gagandeep Anand (STScI), Alejandro Benitez-Llambay (University of Milano-Bicocca); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
American Astronomical Society

The 247th Meeting of the AAS

The 247th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (joint with the Historical Astronomy Division) will be held 4-8 January 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.

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American Astronomical Society

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Angled from the upper left corner to the lower right corner is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. This feature takes up about three-fourths of the length of this angle. The upper left end of this feature has a translucent, rounded end. The conical feature widens slightly from the rounded end at the upper right down to the lower right. Along the cone there are additional rounded edges, like edges of a wave, and intricate foamy-like details, as well as a clearer view of the black background of space. In the upper left, overlapping with the rounded end of Herbig-Haro 49/50, is a background spiral galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outward to blend with red spiral arms. The background of space is speckled with some white stars and smaller, more numerous, fainter white galaxies throughout.