Scientists discover smallest galaxy ever seen: 'It's like having a perfectly functional human being that's the size of a grain of rice'

A false-color image taken with MegaCam on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) as part of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS) shows a zoomed-in view of the newly discovered Andromeda XXXV satellite galaxy. A white ellipse, that measures about 1,000 light-years across its longest axis, shows the extent of the galaxy. Within the ellipse's boundary is a cluster of mostly dim stars, ranging in hues from bright blues to warm yellows.

Astronomers have discovered a collection of tiny galaxies located roughly 3 million light-years away that includes the smallest and faintest galaxy ever seen.

This galaxy, designated Andromeda XXXV, and its compatriots orbiting our neighbor galaxy, Andromeda, could change how we think about cosmic evolution.