Cloud 9: Could the cosmos harbor the first truly starless galaxy?

Astronomers studying Cloud 9, a gas-rich object about 14 million light‑years from Earth near Messier 94, report that it shows virtually no starlight in the deepest optical imaging to date, making it the best candidate yet for a starless or “dark” galaxy. The team constrains any old, metal-poor stellar population to about 16,000 solar masses, while the region harbors roughly 1 million solar masses of hydrogen gas and a dark-matter halo of about 5 million solar masses. If confirmed, Cloud 9 would fit cosmological predictions that ultraviolet background radiation can suppress star formation in low-mass halos; however, deeper observations (e.g., with Hubble or JWST) are needed to rule out faint stars and prove it is truly starless.