(ORDO NEWS) — Astronomers have discovered the largest galaxy in the universe. The study by scientists from the University of Leiden.
The galaxy was given the name Alcyone. It is a typical elliptical galaxy, which is located at a distance of about 3 billion light years from Earth.
Alcyone extends in space for 5 megaparsecs – 16.3 million light years in length. At the center of this galaxy is a supermassive black hole with a mass 400 million times that of the sun.
Initially, scientists used the low-frequency interferometric network LOFAR to observe the so-called radio lobes – offshoots that usually come from all galaxies. Following them, the astronomers went to Alcyone.
The characteristics of the metagalaxy were measured using the Sloane Digital Sky Survey, a project to study multispectral images and redshift spectra of stars and galaxies using the 2.5-meter wide-field telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico.
According to the researchers, except for the huge size of the galaxy is no different from the others.
Scientists still do not know exactly how such mega-galaxies are formed. Further study of Alcyone will help to find the answer to this question.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.