The claimed detection of a diffuse galaxy lacking dark matter represents a possible challenge to our understanding of the properties of these galaxies and galaxy formation in general .
The galaxy , already identified in photographic plates taken in the summer of 1976 at the UK 48-in Schmidt telescope , presents normal distance-independent properties ( e.g .
colour , velocity dispersion of its globular clusters ) .
However , distance-dependent quantities are at odds with those of other similar galaxies , namely the luminosity function and sizes of its globular clusters , mass-to-light ratio and dark matter content .
Here we carry out a careful analysis of all extant data and show that they consistently indicate a much shorter distance ( 13 Mpc ) than previously indicated ( 20 Mpc ) .
With this revised distance , the galaxy appears to be a rather ordinary low surface brightness galaxy ( R _ { e } =1.4 \pm 0.1 kpc ; M _ { \star } =6.0 \pm 3.6 \times 10 ^ { 7 } M _ { \odot } ) with plenty of room for dark matter ( the fraction of dark matter inside the half mass radius is > 75 % and M _ { halo } /M _ { \star } > 20 ) corresponding to a minimum halo mass > 10 ^ { 9 } M _ { \odot } .
At 13 Mpc , the luminosity and structural properties of the globular clusters around the object are the same as those found in other galaxies .