User:PNSMurthy/Largest Galaxies

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June 1995 image of IC 1101 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy has a very large halo of much lower intensity "diffuse light" extending to a diameter of 4 million ly.

Below is a list of the largest galaxies so far discovered. Many of these galaxies are millions of light years away, so these sizes are prone to be inaccurate, and will change as technology and techniques improve.

Caveats[edit]

The order of this list is uncertain, for the following reasons:

  • Galaxies do not have precise boundaries. This list puts the boundaries of galaxies where the density of stars drops to 1 per hundred light year squared.
  • Most galaxies have different emissions of light at different wavelengths. Such an example is IC 1101 whose X-ray emission extends to 5.5–6.6 million light years despite its smaller stellar diameter.[1]

List[edit]

Included galaxies are over 300,000 light years in diameter, including features which may not typically be considered parts of "classical" galaxies; e.g. tidal tails or haloes. The Milky Way, for comparison, is only about 140,000 light years across, even including its large halo and detailed surveys detecting spare star fields that would be impossible to see for a galaxy much further away.

List of the largest galaxies
Galaxy Size
(light-years / parsecs) 		Type Notes
IC 1101 4,000,000 ly (1,200,000 pc)[2] E/S0 The size of this galaxy is disputed. 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. The stellar diameter of this galaxy is only 424,000 ± 78,000 ly.[3] Another estimate gives only 436,000 light years (excluding the halo).
HFLS3 1,000,000–3,000,000 ly (310,000–920,000 pc)[citation needed] IrS
BCG of Phoenix Cluster 2,200,000 ly (670,000 pc)[a] E3 Massive elliptical starburst galaxy.
3C 295 2,000,000 ly (610,000 pc) FRII RG One of most distant known objects.
Hercules A 1,500,000 ly (460,000 pc) cD Plasma jets of this galaxy makes it large, although the exact size of this galaxy is less than 250,000 ly.
Companion to Markarian 926 1,350,000 ly (410,000 pc)[citation needed] E5 The large tidal tail extending from the galaxy is over 1 mly across, although the main galaxy is less than 100,000 ly.
NGC 262 (Markarian 348) 1,300,000 ly (400,000 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 ly.
NGC 4889 (Coma B) 1,300,000 ly (400,000 pc) cD;E4;Dd The huge halo of this galaxy makes it large; the stellar diameter of this galaxy is only 478,000 ly.
Markarian 501 1,260,000 ly (390,000 pc)[a] S0 This galaxy contains a spectrum extending to the highest energy gamma rays.
NGC 4874 (Coma A) 1,250,000 ly (380,000 pc) cD The huge halo of this galaxy makes it large; The stellar diameter of this galaxy is only 417,000 ly.[citation needed]
300 other Abell cluster BCGs >1,000,000 ly (310,000 pc) cD
A2261-BCG 1,000,000 ly (310,000 pc)[4] cD E BCG of the Abell 2261.
ESO 306-17 1,000,000 ly (310,000 pc)[5] cD3 The huge halo of this galaxy makes it large; The stellar diameter of this galaxy is only 125,000 ly.
3C 20 850,000 ly (260,000 pc)[6][a] E
3C 48 785,000 ly (241,000 pc)[a] E One of four primary calibrators used by the Very Large Array.
Mice Galaxies (NGC 4676) 760,000 ly (230,000 pc) Irr / SB(s)0/a pec The tail of this galaxy makes it larger although the size of this galaxy is about twice as small.
Malin 1 650,000 ly (200,000 pc)[7] SB0a First identified LSB galaxy. Malin 1B is located in the center of Malin 1. Its size is only 30,000 ly. Largest spiral galaxy, Largest barred spiral galaxy.
Comet Galaxy 600,000 ly (180,000 pc)[8] Spiral Located in the galaxy cluster Abell 2667.
NGC 6872 (Condor Galaxy) 522,000 ly (160,000 pc)[9] SB(s)b pec Incorrectly claimed in 2013 as the largest spiral galaxy. The "actual" largest spiral galaxy is Malin 1. (see above) IC 4970 is a nearby lenticular galaxy and is located a few arcseconds away from NGC 6872.
Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038/NGC 4039) 500,000 ly (150,000 pc)[10][b] SB(s)m pec / SA(s)m pec
3C 9 495,000 ly (152,000 pc)[a] FR II
QSO 		One of most distant known objects.
Messier 87 (Virgo A) 490,000 ly (150,000 pc)[11][12] E+0-1 pec BCG of the Virgo Cluster. This galaxy spans a diameter of 120,000 ly, about the same as the Milky Way. But M87 is a spheroid, not a flat spiral.
3C 147 467,300 ly (143,300 pc)[a] ? One of four primary calibrators used by the Very Large Array.
UGC 2885 463,000 ly (142,000 pc)[13] Sc One of the largest known spiral galaxies. Another estimate gives a larger size, but this estimate is more accurate.
YGKOW G1 452,000 ly (139,000 pc)[a] cD A giant elliptical galaxy lying within a cluster of galaxies that also contribute to the lensing.
ESO 444-46 402,200 ly (123,300 pc)[14][a] cD4 A large globular cluster population.
3C 288 393,200 ly (120,600 pc)[a][15][16] rG
Milkdromeda (Milkomeda) 350,000 ly (110,000 pc)[citation needed] Median point by which the Andromeda Galaxy will have collided with the Milky Way, which will thereafter merge to form a galaxy dubbed "Milkomeda". The planets of the Solar System are expected to be relatively unaffected by this collision.[17][18]
Arp 7 320,000 ly (98,000 pc)[19][a] SB(rs)bc
2MASX J07580886+1801553 310,000 ly (95,000 pc)[citation needed] S0 Shell elliptical, with shells extending unusually far in an asymmetric pattern.
Pictor A 300,000 ly (92,000 pc)[20] ?
The following well-known galaxies are listed for the purpose of comparison.
Galaxy Size
(light-years / parsecs) 		Type Notes
Tadpole Galaxy 280,000 ly (86,000 pc)[21] SB(s)c pec
Holmberg 15A 270,000 ly (83,000 pc) cD;BrClG Holmberg 15A is the central dominant galaxy of Abell 85. It has the largest core ever observed in a galaxy.
Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) 220,000 ly (67,000 pc)[22] SA(s)b Closest large galaxy to the Milky Way Galaxy and was often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts.
NGC 1232 200,000 ly (61,000 pc) SAB(rs)c
Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101) 175,000 ly (54,000 pc)[23] SAB(rs)cd A galaxy which was discovered by Pierre Mechain and later noted by William Herschel.
Cartwheel Galaxy (ESO 350-40) 150,000 ly (46,000 pc)[24] S pec A lenticular galaxy which is known for its ring and cartwheel shape. It was discovered by Fritz Zwicky and was often referred to as the Carpentaria Sculptoris.
NGC 7331 142,000 ly (44,000 pc)[25] 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)[26] SBc The home galaxy of humankind. The galaxy that contains the Solar System where the Earth orbits the Sun.
Reported for reference
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j The quoted sizes were determined from apparent sizes (or angular diameters) and distances.
  2. ^ The quoted size was based on an assumed distance of 60 million ly although a more recent study gives a less remote distance of 45 million ly, giving consequently smaller values for the size.

Apparent area[edit]

List of the galaxies with the largest visual areas
Galaxy Size
(square arcminutes) 		Type Apparent Magnitude Size Distance Dimensions
Canis Major Overdensity (disputed) 518,400 (144 square degrees) Irregular 25 kly 720′ × 720′
Andromeda Galaxy 7,200 (2 square degrees)[NB 1][27] [27][28] SA(s)b[28] 3.44 220 kly 2.54 mly 190′ × 60′
Triangulum Galaxy 7,080 (2 square degrees) SA(s)cd 5.72 60 kly 2.38 to 3.07 mly 70.8′ × 41.7′
This shows the beauty of the universe -credits to NASA/ESA HST.

Apparent diameter[edit]

List of the widest visual galaxies
Galaxy Size (arcseconds) Type Notes
Andromeda Galaxy 9,000[NB 2][29] SA(s)b [28] With apparent dimensions of 190'×60' ; Andromeda is the galaxy with the largest apparent size [28][29]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ 2 square degrees
  2. ^ 2.5 degrees

References[edit]

  1. ^ "How big are galaxies". Phys org.
  2. ^ Uson, Juan M.; Boughn, Stephen P.; Kuhn, Jeffrey R. (March 1991). "Diffuse light in dense clusters of galaxies. I. R-band observations of Abell 2029". The Astrophysical Journal. 369: 46–53. Bibcode:1991ApJ...369...46U. doi:10.1086/169737.
  3. ^ Fisher, David; Illingworth, Garth; Franx, Marijn (January 1995). "Kinematics of 13 brightest cluster galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal. 438 (2): 539–562. Bibcode:1995ApJ...438..539F. doi:10.1086/175100.
  4. ^ "NASA feature". Monster Galaxy May Have Been Stirred Up By Black-hole Mischief. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  5. ^ MSNBC, "A Giant Among Galaxies ?" Archived 2010-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, Alan Boyle, 4 March 2010 (accessed 5 March 2010)[dead link]
  6. ^ www.jb.man.ac.uk/atlas/
  7. ^ Crosswell, Ken (22 January 2007). "Malin 1: A Bizarre Galaxy Gets Slightly Less So". KenCroswell.com.
  8. ^ Comet Galaxy from spacetelescope.org
  9. ^ "NASA's GALEX Reveals the Largest-Known Spiral Galaxy". NASA. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  10. ^ Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive (28 April 2017). "Exploring the Antennae". Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  11. ^ Doherty, M.; Arnaboldi, M.; Das, P.; Gerhard, O.; Aguerri, J. A. L.; Ciardullo, R.; Feldmeier, J. J.; Freeman, K. C.; Jacoby, G. H.; Murante, G. (August 2009). "The edge of the M 87 halo and the kinematics of the diffuse light in the Virgo cluster core". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 502 (3): 771–786. arXiv:0905.1958. Bibcode:2009A&A...502..771D. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200811532. S2CID 17110964.
  12. ^ Klotz, Irene (8 June 2009). "Galaxy's Outer Halo Lopped Off". Discovery News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  13. ^ UGC 2885 - GIANT SIZE Spiral Galaxy, retrieved 2018-05-14
  14. ^ "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for ESO 444-46. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  15. ^ "Query : 3C 288". Simbad. Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  16. ^ "NED results for object 3C 288". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  17. ^ NASA (2012-05-31). "NASA's Hubble Shows Milky Way is Destined for Head-On Collision". NASA. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
  18. ^ Dowd, Maureen (29 May 2012). "Andromeda Is Coming!". New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2014. [NASA's David Morrison] explained that the Andromeda-Milky Way collision would just be two great big fuzzy balls of stars and mostly empty space passing through each other harmlessly over the course of millions of years.
  19. ^ "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for ARP 007. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  20. ^ "Spectacular X-ray Jet Points Toward Cosmic Energy Booster". Exploring the Universe. Chandra X-ray Observatory. 6 June 2000. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  21. ^ "Tadpole Galaxy". Stardate.
  22. ^ Chapman, S. C.; et al. (2006). "A kinematically selected, metal-poor spheroid in the outskirts of M31". Astrophysical Journal. 653 (1): 255–266. arXiv:astro-ph/0602604. Bibcode:2006ApJ...653..255C. doi:10.1086/508599. S2CID 14774482. Also see the press release, "Andromeda's Stellar Halo Shows Galaxy's Origin to Be Similar to That of Milky Way" (Press release). Caltech Media Relations. February 27, 2006. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-24.
  23. ^ http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2265.html#.VIX5BWf0DDE NASA/CXC/SAO; IR & UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Optical: NASA/STScI
  24. ^ "Amazing Space- Fast Facts: Cartwheel Galaxy". Amazing Space. 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  25. ^ "Seeing Double: Spitzer Captures Our Galaxy's Twin". Spitzer Space Telescope Newsroom. Spitzer Science Center. 2004-06-28. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  26. ^ Hall, Shannon (2015-05-04). "Size of the Milky Way Upgraded, Solving Galaxy Puzzle". Space.com. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  27. ^ a b Kenneth Glyn Jones (1991). Messier's Nebulae and Star Clusters. Cambridge University Press. p. 7. ISBN 9780521370790.
  28. ^ a b c d "NED results for object MESSIER 031". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database.
  29. ^ a b Rudolf Kurth (22 October 2013). Introduction to Stellar Statistics. Vol. 10. Pergamon Press. p. 5. ISBN 9781483184951. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

Largest Galaxies, Largest

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