By Grace Dulay

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Matthew Fleenor

Abstract

Typical cold dark matter (CDM) models suggest that all galaxies form within a dark matter halo, thus suggesting that lower-mass galaxies have a higher dark matter content. However, recent studies of the radial velocities of NGC-1052 DF4 and NGC-1052 DF2, two low-mass galaxies, yield results that suggest that they are dark matter deficient. In this study, we focused on NGC-1052 DF4 to study its surface brightness as an indicator to the underlying dark matter content. We obtained partially processed Hubble Space Telescope images of DF4 from the MAST archive in two different wavelengths, 606 nm and 814 nm. Next, the images were locally aligned and grouped in Afterglow for image processing. Final processing involved background correction and pixel neutralization. To obtain a measure of surface brightness, we utilized contour options within DS9. From this we observed and quantified the brightness distribution as a function of the projected azimuth.