Has a New Dwarf Galaxy Been Found Hiding Behind Andromeda?

"There is a discrepancy between the observed number of low mass systems in the Local Group and its surroundings and the predicted one in cosmological simulations. A complete census of dwarf galaxies is necessary to understand the actual origin of this problem, as for example, the ingredients and assumptions in the computation of cosmological simulations or the lack of deep observations needed to trace the lowest surface brightness system in the local universe. The census of dwarf galaxies can shed light on key questions on galaxy formation and evolution."

"That is, the only way to find them is by means of ultra-deep imaging in wide areas of the sky. Amateur telescopes can obtain ultra-deep imaging of nearby galaxies or wide sky fields with surface brightness reaching surface brightness limit of 29 magn/arcsec2 or deeper. This provides new chance of discovery for amateurs in the field of galaxy evolution, a topic that was not feasible for amateurs one decade ago. The new generation of large scale surveys (e.g. LSST) will have a tremendous impact on this research topic too.

"Donatiello I could be one of the brightest members of a large population of isolated, unbound dwarf galaxies that remains undiscovered around the Local Group. A statistical comparison of these observations is extremely important to probe the predictions of state-of-the-art cosmological simulations. I think its discovery must encourage a more systematic survey of this kind of low surface brightness systems with modest instruments."