<p>Table 2 from <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ab7eb9/pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Drlica-Wagner et al., 2020</a> contains a list of 61 confirmed and candidate Milky Way satellites. Two of these are unconfirmed, and two are probable star clusters. 39 are confirmed satellite galaxies with known kinematics and 18 are probable satellite galaxies. These are all in a radius of about 300 kpc from the Sun.</p>
<p>Deeper surveys in the coming years will possibly find another 150 satellites, since
<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ab846a/pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Nadler et al., 2020</a> finds that there are likely <span class="math-container">$220\pm 50$</span> satellite galaxies of the Milky Way.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-07T07:35:37.383Z
2020-07-07T07:35:37.383Z
usernumber
<p>Starter answer:</p>

<p>Wikipedia's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Group" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Local Group</a> lists the following items as galaxies, dwarf galaxies, or possibly galaxies. You should refer back to the Wikipedia page, but here is a summary:</p>

<p><strong>Galaxies:</strong> Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud</p>

<p><strong>Dwarf Galaxies:</strong> Ursa Minor, Draco, Carina, Sextans, Sculptor, Fornax, Leo I, Leo II, Ursa Major I, Ursa Major II </p>

<p><strong>Disputed Dwarf Galaxy:</strong> Canis Major</p>

<p><strong>other:</strong> several additional ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxies</p>

<p><strong>However:</strong> There is a <em>much longer list of "galaxies"</em> (over 60 items) Wikipedia's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_galaxies_of_the_Milky_Way" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way</a></p>

<p>Hopefully another answer will be posted discussing just how galactic these need to be to be called galaxies, and if they are all known to be gravitationally bound to the Milky Way or just in its proximity. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-10T13:15:21.370Z
2019-12-10T13:15:21.370Z
uhoh
<p>The small and large Magellanic clouds are galaxies that are orbiting our own galaxy. How many such "galactic satellites" do we know of?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-26T09:09:23.213Z
I find this question really interesting. I thought I'd add a bounty to draw attention and stimulate answers, but I wanted to check first to see if you already know the answer yet or not.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-27T07:33:18.847Z
Okay I'll add a bounty as soon as soon as one of my existing ones expires, thanks!
uhoh
<milky-way><satellite><dwarf-galaxy>
How many satellites does the Milky Way have?
usernumber
# How many satellites does the Milky Way have?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-12-10)

The small and large Magellanic clouds are galaxies that are orbiting our own galaxy. How many such "galactic satellites" do we know of?

**Tags:** milky-way, satellite, dwarf-galaxy

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I find this question really interesting. I thought I'd add a bounty to draw attention and stimulate answers, but I wanted to check first to see if you already know the answer yet or not.  
> **username_1**: Okay I'll add a bounty as soon as soon as one of my existing ones expires, thanks!  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2020-07-07. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Table 2 from [Drlica-Wagner et al., 2020](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ab7eb9/pdf) contains a list of 61 confirmed and candidate Milky Way satellites. Two of these are unconfirmed, and two are probable star clusters. 39 are confirmed satellite galaxies with known kinematics and 18 are probable satellite galaxies. These are all in a radius of about 300 kpc from the Sun.

Deeper surveys in the coming years will possibly find another 150 satellites, since
[Nadler et al., 2020](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ab846a/pdf) finds that there are likely $220\pm 50$ satellite galaxies of the Milky Way.


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### Answer by username_1 on 2019-12-10. Score: 4

Starter answer:

Wikipedia's [Local Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Group) lists the following items as galaxies, dwarf galaxies, or possibly galaxies. You should refer back to the Wikipedia page, but here is a summary:

**Galaxies:** Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud

**Dwarf Galaxies:** Ursa Minor, Draco, Carina, Sextans, Sculptor, Fornax, Leo I, Leo II, Ursa Major I, Ursa Major II

**Disputed Dwarf Galaxy:** Canis Major

**other:** several additional ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxies

**However:** There is a *much longer list of "galaxies"* (over 60 items) Wikipedia's [Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_galaxies_of_the_Milky_Way)

Hopefully another answer will be posted discussing just how galactic these need to be to be called galaxies, and if they are all known to be gravitationally bound to the Milky Way or just in its proximity.


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