Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 November 2005
We present the results from a suite of N-body simulations of the tidal stripping of two-component dwarf galaxies comprising some stars and dark matter. We show that recent kinematic data from the local group dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies suggests that dSph galaxies must be sufficiently massive ($10^9$–$10^{10}$M$_\odot$) that tidal stripping is of little importance for the stars. We discuss the implications of these massive dSph galaxies for cosmology and galaxy formation.