Cloud-9 appears to be a starless object showing a failed galaxy

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope confirmed a starless, gas-rich dark-matter cloud called Cloud-9 near the galaxy Messier 94; its neutral hydrogen core spans about 4,900 light-years and holds roughly one million solar masses of gas.

Astronomers report the discovery of Cloud-9, a starless, gas-rich dark-matter cloud identified with the Hubble Space Telescope. The team describes the object as matching the long-predicted RELHIC (Reionization-Limited H I Cloud) class, meaning it contains neutral hydrogen but shows no signs of star formation. Cloud-9 was found on the outskirts of the spiral galaxy Messier 94 and is the ninth gas cloud cataloged there. Researchers presented the results in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and at a recent American Astronomical Society meeting. Key observations: - Cloud-9 is described as starless and rich in neutral hydrogen, detected with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. - The hydrogen core is reported to be about 4,900 light-years across. - The hydrogen gas mass is estimated at roughly one million times the mass of the Sun. - The overall cloud mass is reported at about five billion solar masses and is believed to be dominated by dark matter. - The team and reporting agencies describe this as the first confirmed detection of this kind of object and note its association with Messier 94. Summary: The finding gives astronomers a rare observational example of a dark-matter-dominated structure that did not form stars, which supports theoretical ideas about small haloes that failed to ignite star formation. The authors reported the result in a peer-reviewed paper and at a scientific meeting, and they noted that similar objects might exist among nearby galactic environments. Undetermined at this time.