Tysonists, look what we learned today from The Credible Hulk: IC 1101 is the largest known galaxy in the universe. Just how huge is it? Prepare to have your mind blown, because this galaxy has a diameter of 6-million light-years and a mass of about 100-trillion suns. It is nearly 50x the size of our very own Milky Way galaxy and 2000x as massive. If our galaxy were to be replaced with this super-giant, it would swallow up both Magellanic clouds, the Andromeda galaxy, the Triangulum galaxy, and almost all the space in between. That is simply staggering. Over billion of years, galaxies the size of our own have collided and combined together to form this prodigious structure. Moreover, telescopic observations have revealed an interesting fact about the stars within this galaxy. Normally, blue-tinted galaxies signal active star formation, while yellow-red hues indicate that the birth of new stars has ceased. IC 1101 is not giving birth to very many new stars. Unless it continues to collide and join with other younger galaxies, IC 1101 will eventually fade away. He is new to Facebook so go visit and give him a Tysony Like!
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 19:09:38 +0000
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