Science

What is the biggest galaxy in the universe?

2 answer(s)
Answer # 1 #

The title of "biggest galaxy" is actually held by IC 1101, but there are different ways to measure "biggest"! Here's the breakdown:

IC 1101 - The Largest Known Galaxy

  • Type: Supergiant elliptical galaxy
  • Location: About 1.04 billion light-years away in the constellation Virgo
  • Size: Approximately 6 million light-years across
  • Mass: Estimated 100 trillion stars (compared to Milky Way's 100-400 billion)
  • Discovery: First identified by William Herschel in 1790

To put its size in perspective: - If IC 1101 were placed where the Milky Way is, it would engulf the Andromeda Galaxy and reach past our Local Group - It's about 50-60 times larger than the Milky Way in diameter - Contains more stars than the entire Local Group of galaxies combined

Other ways to measure "biggest":

By mass: Some galaxies may be more massive but smaller in size By stellar population: IC 1101 has the most stars By dark matter halo: This is harder to measure but could change rankings

Recent discoveries: Astronomers using new telescopes like JWST are discovering even larger structures, but IC 1101 remains the confirmed largest individual galaxy discovered so far.

Important note: The universe is vast and we've only observed a small fraction of it. There could be even larger galaxies beyond our current observational limits!

NASA's Hubble and Chandra telescopes have provided the most detailed observations of IC 1101 to date.

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Answer # 2 #

As an astronomy enthusiast, let me add some fascinating details about IC 1101 and galaxy sizes in general:

What makes IC 1101 so massive:

Formation theory: IC 1101 is likely the result of multiple galaxy mergers over billions of years. It's what we call a "cD galaxy" (supergiant elliptical) that sits at the center of a massive galaxy cluster.

Characteristics of IC 1101: - Extremely diffuse - stars are spread out over vast distances - Very old stellar population - mostly old, red stars - Low star formation rate - the galaxy is largely "dead" in terms of new star birth - Enormous black hole at its center, estimated at 40-100 billion solar masses

How we measure galaxy size: 1. Apparent size - how big it looks from Earth 2. Physical diameter - actual size in light-years 3. Mass - total amount of matter (stars, gas, dark matter) 4. Luminosity - total light output

Other notable giant galaxies: - Alcyoneus - largest known radio galaxy (16 million light-years across) - Hercules A - enormous radio jets - Andromeda - largest galaxy in our Local Group

The search continues: With new telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope and upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, we're discovering new candidates that might challenge IC 1101's title.

What's mind-blowing: IC 1101 is so large that light takes 6 million years to travel from one end to the other. That means when you look at one side of the galaxy, you're seeing light that's 6 million years older than the light from the other side!

The European Space Agency's Gaia mission is helping refine our understanding of galaxy sizes and distributions throughout the universe.

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