"This is a tale of a failed galaxy," said principal investigator Alejandro Benitez-Llambay of the University of Milano-Bicocca, explaining that the absence of stars is the key evidence, according to NASA, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

"In science, we usually learn more from the failures than from the successes."

Team member Andrew Fox of AURA/STScI added: "This cloud is a window into the dark universe," noting that such objects offer rare observational access to dark matter, which does not emit light.