An international team of researchers, led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), has identified nearly 50 previously unknown dwarf galaxies orbiting three larger galaxies: NGC 5068, NGC 5084, and NGC 5087. These dwarf galaxies, which are extremely faint and difficult to detect, are often called "ghost galaxies." The discovery was made using deep optical images from the VST (VLT Survey Telescope) at the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Paranal Observatory in Chile. The findings were published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Dwarf galaxies are among the most common in the universe, with masses roughly equivalent to a billion Suns, though many are significantly smaller. Due to their low luminosity, they are often hard to spot, and most known ones are near the Milky Way. However, recent observations have shown some inconsistencies with the standard model of the universe, raising questions about how galaxies form and evolve over time. The study presents the deepest optical images yet of the regions surrounding the three host galaxies, covering an area about 12 times the size of the full moon. The researchers identified 47 candidate dwarf galaxies, of which only four were previously known. Because these galaxies are so faint, the team relied on careful visual analysis of the images rather than automated detection methods, which would have missed them. The researchers confirmed the nature of these galaxies by analyzing their color and structure, which align with known dwarf galaxies. However, further confirmation requires spectroscopic observations to measure their distance and motion. The spatial arrangement of the dwarf galaxies around their host galaxies suggests they are likely orbiting them. For NGC 5084, the distribution appears to be planar, similar to how the Milky Way's satellite galaxies are arranged. The newly discovered galaxies vary in structure. Many are diffuse and lack internal features, classified as dwarf spheroidals or dwarf ellipticals. Others show signs of internal structure and may be dwarf spirals or dwarf irregulars. Each galaxy has a mass ranging from one million to one billion times that of the Sun. The study also found that the light distribution in these galaxies is more like that of disk galaxies rather than the steeper profiles seen in elliptical galaxies. The galaxies’ color also changes with distance from their centers, appearing redder in the middle and less red at the edges. The VST-SMASH survey, which led to these discoveries, was designed to complement the work of the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope. Euclid is expected to find even more dwarf galaxies when its first data is released in the coming months. Several researchers involved in the study, including lead author Crescenzo Tortora, are also part of the Euclid collaboration, contributing to future discoveries.