List of largest galaxies
Below is a list of the largest galaxies so far discovered by size.
The order of this list is speculative, for the following reasons:
- Galaxies don't have precise boundaries. From the center of mass, the stars just drop down in density proportionally with greater distance. This list puts the boundaries of galaxies within the 1 star per hundred light year squared critical limit, where stars will hold each other through gravity.
- Most galaxies have uncertain emissions of light at different wavelengths. Such an example is IC 1101 whose X-ray emission extends to 6 million light years despite its smaller stellar diameter.
- Most galaxies undergo gravitational perturbations, making their stars spread out, such as the Comet Galaxy. This list only puts the boundaries where the gravity of the galaxy is dominant and not by tidal tails or other interactions.
List
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| Galaxy | Size (ly/pc) | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| IC 1101 | 5,800,000 ly (1,800,000 pc) ± 800,000 ly (250,000 pc)[1] | E3 | Once reported in the late 1980s with an extremely large size, detailed analysis of its stellar halo finally reduced it to half of its original value. |
| NGC 262 (Markarian 348) |
2,600,000 ly (800,000 pc) (H I halo) |
S0-a | The huge neutral hydrogen halo of this galaxy makes it large; the stellar diameter of this galaxy is only 88,000 light-years. |
| BCG of Phoenix Cluster | 2,200,000 ly (670,000 pc) | E3 | Massive elliptical starburst galaxy |
| NGC 4874 | >1,000,000 ly (310,000 pc) | cD | |
| 300 other Abell cluster BCGs | >1,000,000 ly (310,000 pc) | ||
| A2261-BCG | 1,000,000 ly (310,000 pc) | cD E | |
| ESO 306-17 | 1,000,000 ly (310,000 pc)[2] | cD3 | |
| NGC 4889 | 1,000,000 ly (310,000 pc) | cD;E4;Dd | |
| UGC 2885 | 416,000–832,000 ly (128,000–255,000 pc) | Sc | |
| Malin 1 | 650,000 ly (200,000 pc)[3] | SB0a | The largest spiral galaxy. |
| Comet Galaxy | 600,000 ly (180,000 pc) | Spiral | |
| NGC 6872 | 370,000–522,000 ly (113,000–160,000 pc)[4] | SB(s)b pec | |
| Galaxy | Size (ly/pc) | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messier 87 | 490,000 ly (150,000 pc) | E+0-1 pec | |
| Tadpole Galaxy | 280,000 ly (86,000 pc) | SB(s)c pec | |
| Andromeda Galaxy | 220,000 ly (67,000 pc) | SA(s)b | This is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way and was often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. |
| NGC 1232 | 170,000 ly (52,000 pc) | SAB(rs)c | |
| Messier 101 | ~170,000 ly (52,000 pc) | SAB(rs)cd | |
| NGC 7331 | 142,000 ly (44,000 pc) | SA(d)b | NGC 7331 is the brightest member of the NGC 7331 Group of galaxies. |
| Milky Way Galaxy | 100,000–180,000 ly (31,000–55,000 pc) | SBc | The home galaxy of humankind. |
Angular size
Apparent area
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| Galaxy | Size (square arcminutes) |
Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andromeda Galaxy | 7200 [NB 1][5] | SA(s)b [6] | With apparent dimensions of 190'×60' ; Andromeda is the galaxy with the largest apparent size [5][6] |
| Triangulum Galaxy | 7080 [5] | SA(s)cd [6] | Apparent dimensions: 70.8'×41.7' [5][6] |
Apparent diameter
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| Galaxy | Size (arcseconds) | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andromeda Galaxy | 9000[NB 2][7] | SA(s)b [6] | With apparent dimensions of 190'×60' ; Andromeda is the galaxy with the largest apparent size [6][7] |
Notes
References
- ↑ http://sciencegaveuslot.com/ic-1101-largest-galaxy-known-in-universe/
- ↑ MSNBC, "A Giant Among Galaxies ?", Alan Boyle, 4 March 2010 (accessed 5 March 2010)
- ↑ Crosswell, Ken (22 January 2007). "Malin 1: A Bizarre Galaxy Gets Slightly Less So". KenCroswell.com.
- ↑ "NASA's GALEX Reveals the Largest-Known Spiral Galaxy". NASA. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Kenneth Glyn Jones (1991). Messier's Nebulae and Star Clusters. Cambridge University Press. p. 7. ISBN 9780521370790.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "NED results for object MESSIER 031". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database.
- 1 2 Rudolf Kurth (22 October 2013). Introduction to Stellar Statistics. International Series of Monographs in Natural Philosophy. 10. Pergamon Press. p. 5. ISBN 9781483184951.
See also
- List of largest cosmic structures
- List of largest nebulae
- List of largest stars
- List of largest exoplanets
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.