We found another "ghost" galaxy with zero dark matter, proving these cosmic oddballs aren't just a fluke.
arXiv · March 18, 2026 · 2603.15860
The Takeaway
Dark matter is considered the essential 'glue' that holds galaxies together, yet astronomers have identified another object that seemingly has none. This discovery supports a wild theory where 'bullet' collisions between galaxies can physically strip the stars away from their dark matter halos.
From the abstract
While most dwarf galaxies are strongly dark matter dominated, two remarkable objects in the NGC 1052 field, DF2 and DF4, appear to lack dark matter. DF2 and DF4 were recently found to be part of a trail of low luminosity galaxies that follow a linear relation between their position on the trail and their radial velocity. If the other galaxies on this trail formed together with DF2 and DF4, e.g., from gas that was separated from dark matter through a 'bullet dwarf' collision, they may lack dark m