The largest galaxy in the universe? 29 years ago, the United States observed "Abel 2029": about 60 times the size of the Milky Way
On October 30, 1990, the United States observed the largest galaxy ever discovered, the ABELL 2029 galaxy group.
The "ABELL 2029" galaxy cluster is 6 million light-years from the Milky Way and about 60 times the size of the Milky Way. According to the US "Science" magazine, this galaxy is located in the center of a galaxy cluster. It has a total of more than 100 trillion stars, compared with only 200 billion stars in the Milky Way!
These data were observed by astronomers such as Jeffrey R. Kuhn of the University of Michigan at the National Observatory in Kitt Peak, Arizona.
"IC 1101" is the brightest galaxy located in the center of the Abell 2029 galaxy cluster, and is classified as a supermassive elliptical galaxy (E) to a lenticular galaxy (S0). At first, astronomers thought IC1101 was just a bright nebula, but it was not determined that IC1101 was an independent large galaxy until Edwin Hubble confirmed the existence of galaxies outside the Milky Way. This galaxy is formed by the collision of multiple galaxies, so it is very large (can hold 1,000 galaxies) and has a large number of metal-rich stars. According to scientists, it has dark matter in its center and black holes with a mass of more than 100 billion suns. But at the same time, the activity of the galaxy IC 1101 is slowing down, which means that the galaxy has very few new stars born – if the galaxy IC 1101 cannot merge with new galaxies in the future, then the galaxy IC 1101 will gradually disappear.
Star systems, or galaxies, are huge "islands" of stars and dust in the universe, and they are also one of the largest and most beautiful celestial systems in the universe. So far, people have observed about 100 billion galaxies in the universe. Some of them are close to us, and their structure can be clearly observed; some are very distant, and the most distant galaxies known to date are nearly 15 billion light-years away.
In the universe, it can be said that "no comparison, no harm": the earth we live on is a planet in the solar system, and the sun is a star in the Milky Way. There are more than 200 billion such stars in the Milky Way, and the sun is only one 200 billion of them. In this way, the Milky Way is too big! But compared to the Abel 2029 galaxy, the Milky Way is as small as an ant…
The smallest galaxy, "Segri 2", is an exception, containing only about 1,000 stars. In comparison, the Milky Way contains hundreds of billions of stars, and the "Segri 2" galaxy is only 900 times larger than the solar system.
The upgrading of astronomical telescopes and the launch of more and more latest spacecraft have brought human exploration of extraterrestrial civilization one step closer. Among them, the bright galaxies have become one of the most attractive reasons for our exploration in the vast universe. At present, the universe that astronomers can observe is 93 billion light-years. In this vast universe, countless galaxies are scattered, and these are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg.
Here are the top 10 most fascinating galaxies in the universe currently selected by astronomers and scientists:
Sombrero Galaxy
The Sombrero Galaxy, numbered M104 or NGC 4594 in the constellation Virgo, is an unbarred spiral galaxy. Its nucleus is very bright, with a central bulge and a large dust lane in the inclined disk. The black dust lane and the bright bulge in the center make this nebula look like a straw hat. The luminosity of this nebula is + 9.0, so it can be seen with ordinary telescopes. Its bulge, the supermassive black hole in the center, and the dust lane all attract the attention of astronomers.
Black Eye Galaxy/Sleeping Beauty Galaxy
The Black Eye Galaxy, also known as the Sleeping Beauty Galaxy, is known as Messier 64. It has an attractive black dust band that runs in front of the bright galactic core, and is therefore known as the "Black Eye Galaxy" or "Magic Eye Galaxy." This galaxy is very famous among astronomers because it can be seen with a small telescope.
Twin Galaxy
The twin galaxy (2MASX J00482185-2507365 occulting pair) consists of two overlapping spiral galaxies located near the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253). The pair illuminated the dust lanes around the visible pillars of one of the spiral nebulae. The dust lanes around the pillars, which are filled with planets and stars, extend infinitely outward, providing new areas of exploration for astronomical research outside the Milky Way. The radius of these dust arms is six times that of this galaxy.
spiral galaxy
The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as 51a, M51a, or NGC 5194, is a massive spiral galaxy in the northern constellation Canes Venatici, about 23 million light-years from Earth. It is one of the most famous spiral galaxies in the sky. Astronomers can easily observe this galaxy and its partners, and in good weather, astronomers can even see both galaxies through binoculars. Vortex galaxies are also a favorite observation object for astronomers, who study them to learn more about the structure of galaxies and their interactions.
Large Spiral Galaxy
The Large Spiral Galaxy (NGC 123) is a very fascinating galaxy, with countless bright stars and black dust dotted with large swaths of interstellar gas forming spiral arms around the center. These spiral arms are dotted with countless blue stars, and the stars are dotted with black interstellar dust lanes. Although it is difficult to see this galaxy, through special devices, billions of faint stars and large amounts of interstellar gas can be observed, which are very massive and are the driving force of the inner galaxy. Only by using the theory of invisible dark matter can we explain the motion of these visible outer galaxies.
Supernova 1987A
Twenty years ago, astronomers discovered one of the brightest exploding stars, Supernova 1987A, which is more than 400 years old. This image shows the entire region of the supernova. Its most striking feature is the ring-like structure of many luminous points at the center, which is caused by the material released by the shock wave during the explosion spreading around the inner ring region around the star, causing these regions to "warm" and then emit light. It was photographed by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope in December 2006.
Galaxy NGC 1512
The galaxy NGC 1512 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the Clock constellation galaxy, about 30 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy NGC 1512 is very bright. The diameter of this galaxy is about 70,000 light-years, which is almost as large as the diameter of our Milky Way. The galaxy is centered on a highly centripetal ring of stars, surrounded by a cluster of countless young stars about 2,400 light-years in diameter. The stellar explosions suggest that new stars are constantly forming in this galaxy, which has been confirmed in several other cosmic environments.
Galaxy NGC 3370
The galaxy NGC 3370 is a dusty spiral galaxy located in the constellation Leo, about 98 million light-years from Earth. At the center of the galaxy NGC 3370 are sharply defined dust lanes and an unrecognizable nucleus. This very high-resolution image was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope using the Advanced Surveying Camera, and we can even see individual Cepheids in the galaxy. Cepheids have been used to determine astronomical distances. In 1994, a Type Ia sypernova in the galaxy NGC 3370 exploded.
M81
Located in the Ursa Major galaxy, M81 is a beautiful spiral galaxy, one of the brightest galaxies on Earth. A distinct dust lane directly passes through the star disk, and there is another spiral feature below and to the right of the center of M81 galaxy, indicating that it has undergone a period of disorderly development. Scientists’ detection of M81’s variable stars has finally led them to determine one of the most accurate distances of an extragalactic galaxy from Earth – 11.80 billion light years.
Hadley’s object
Hoag’s Object is a very famous ring galaxy. Astronomy enthusiasts and astronomers have been intrigued by the galaxy’s unique appearance and distinctive structure. Although these similar objects have been identified and classified as ring galaxies, how Hoag’s Object formed remains unknown. The most classic image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in July 2001, shows Hagrid’s objects in unprecedented detail, which may help astronomers better understand such galaxies.
How many "invisible" galaxies are there in the universe? Scientists and astronomers are still doing their best to explore.