The Stromlo Missing Satellites Survey

Abstract

The Stromlo Missing Satellites (SMS) program is a critical endeavor to investigate whether cold dark matter cosmology is flawed in its ability to describe the matter distribution on galaxy scales or proves itself once again as a powerful theory to make observational predictions. The project will deliver unprecedented results on Milky Way satellite numbers, their distribution and physical properties. It is the deepest, most extended survey for optically elusive dwarf satellite galaxies to date, covering the entire 20,000 sq deg of the Southern hemisphere. 150TB of CCD images will be analysed in six photometric bands, 0.5-1.0 mag fainter than SDSS produced by the ANU SkyMapper telescope over the next five years. (For more details see: http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~jerjen/SMS_Survey.html)Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, in "Galaxies in the Local Volume" (Sydney, 8-13 July 2007), eds B. Koribalski and H. Jerjen, Springer Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, p. 18