Bullseye! The nine-ringed galaxy may reveal dark matter mysteries.

• International researchers have discovered a galaxy with nine rings, a “serendipitous discovery” due to the limited number of ringed galaxies.

• The discovery was confirmed using the Hubble space telescope and the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

• The Bullseye Galaxy, named LEDA 1313424, is known for its unique shape and the formation of its nine rings.

• The team found signs of a blue dwarf galaxy passing through the center of the Bullseye Galaxy about 50 million years ago, creating new places of star formation.

• The interaction didn’t alter the orbits of individual stars but caused groups of stars to pile up and form distinct rings over millions of years.

• The Bullseye Galaxy will continue to evolve and will have these star-filled rings only for a short interval of time.

• The discovery also contains signs that the Bullseye Galaxy could one day evolve into a giant low surface-brightness (GLSB) galaxy, crucial in the study of dark matter.

• GLSB galaxies are believed to be filled with dark matter and have a more uniform distribution of mass near their centres, which is at odds with the standard model of cosmology.

• The size of the Bullseye Galaxy’s extended disk and hydrogen content relative to its stellar mass are comparable to that of other GLSB galaxies, and it’s likely to become one in future.

• More analysis is still required to confirm the transition from a ringed galaxy to a GLSB galaxy.

• The new study offers compelling evidence of an evolutionary link between the Bullseye Galaxy and GLSB galaxies.