[REVISION HISTORY]
IC 1101 confirmed as largest known galaxy
Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.
What changed
2026-08-08 09:03 UTC → 2026-08-25 08:50 UTC ·
added
removed
IC 1101 confirmed as largest known galaxy
Astronomers led by Carlos Marrero‑de la Rosa used ultra‑deep Marrero-de-la-Rosa of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias have confirmed IC 1101 as the largest known galaxy. Using ultra-deep imaging from the 2.5-meter Isaac Newton Telescope to map at the outer light of Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, the giant elliptical galaxy IC 1101. On 31 July 2026 they identified team mapped the galaxy’s outermost light to establish a boundary at roughly diameter of approximately 520 kiloparsecs (about 1.7 million light‑years), refining earlier size estimates light-years). To achieve this measurement, researchers had to meticulously model and establishing subtract light interference from the atmosphere, the telescope, and more than 250 foreground stars. This process allowed them to identify the main stellar area extending roughly 260 kiloparsecs from the center. The resulting diameter is approximately 17 to 20 times wider than the Milky Way’s stellar disk; if placed in our local neighborhood, IC 1101 as would nearly span the largest known distance between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy. A follow‑up report on 6 August 2026 reiterated Located at the measurement—radius 260 kiloparsecs, diameter ≈520 kiloparsecs—and added that center of the galaxy’s Abell 2029 galaxy cluster, IC 1101 has a stellar mass is of about 3.4 trillion solar masses. The study noted faint asymmetric structures beyond the main edge, indicating the galaxy is still growing through the ongoing accretion of smaller galaxies, and highlighted galaxies. Additionally, the galaxy’s core hosts an ultra‑massive central ultra-massive black hole of estimated to be several hundred billion solar masses. Together the findings confirm IC 1101’s status as the largest galaxy and provide insight into the growth masses, making it one of the most massive galactic systems. largest known black holes.
Versions
- 2026-08-25 08:50 UTC IC 1101 confirmed as largest known galaxy
- 2026-08-08 09:03 UTC IC 1101 confirmed as largest galaxy
Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.