Hubble identifies a new type of celestial object, Cloud-9.

Hubble observations found no stars in Cloud-9 and researchers report it matches a predicted class of starless, gas-rich dark-matter clouds called Reionization-Limited H I Clouds (RELHICs).

A team of astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to re-examine an object known as Cloud-9 and concluded it contains no stars. The object was first detected three years earlier in a radio survey by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). Recent radio data from the Very Large Array (VLA) prompted Hubble follow-up imaging with the Advanced Camera for Surveys. The result led researchers to describe Cloud-9 as a dark-matter–dominated, starless cloud rather than a faint dwarf galaxy. Key details: - Cloud-9 was first discovered in a FAST radio survey about three years ago. - The Very Large Array provided radio detections that guided the Hubble observations. - Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys found no stars within Cloud-9. - Researchers classify the object as a Reionization-Limited H I Cloud (RELHIC), rich in neutral hydrogen and dominated by dark matter. - The study and these conclusions were reported in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and cite lead author Gagandeep Anand of the Space Telescope Science Institute. Summary: The observation presents Cloud-9 as a candidate example of a starless, gas-rich dark-matter structure that may be a fossil from early galaxy formation. Undetermined at this time.