A group of five undergrad astronomy students signed up for a class on research methods — and wound up discovering their own new galaxy. The students, at University of Wisconsin in Madison, got a few precious minutes of research time on the Arecibo Observatory, thanks to their professor, Snezana Stanimirovic. And they decided to aim the telescope at the sinister-sounding Zone Of Avoidance, the area where telescopes usually don’t look because of interference. They found a new galaxy almost immediately. The only question now: What should they name it?
