Las galaxias más grandes del universo

Today we are going to embark on a journey backward, as far back as possible, to discover the most impressive galaxies in the known universe. Starting from a point of departure a among the smallest ever discovered, the Coma Galaxy, which measures barely 1,400 light-years in width, it is actually insignificant in size compared to that of Zwicky. 18. A dwarf galaxy, containing barely a few million stars and measuring 5,200 light-years wide. She herself is relatively modest in size, compared to the small ones Magellanic Clouds. And everything we have just mentioned seems to be crushed by the monumental dimensions, and above all, the luminosity of an irregular dwarf that is experiencing intense star formation, such as NGC 4449. This galaxy, in fact contains several billion stars, also known as a dwarf, a name that takes on all its meaning when we know that it is six times smaller than our galaxy, the Milky Way Lenticular. But let's continue ascending with NGC 4485, which here is distorted, attracted and connected by a gas bridge. To its imposing neighbor, the Cocoon Galaxy, which has a size comparable to that of the Triangle and its nearly 40 billion stars. Or also to the one from Sombrero, which has a core of bewildering intensity, giving it a hat-like appearance. Although these three giants of space continue to be considered galaxies relatively small, since their size is half that of our Milky Way Lactea, with whom they are compared in size. But let us resume our ascent toward the monstrous. from the photogenic irregular galaxy M80 and 2 next to which we would pale in comparison. Because although it is two and a half times smaller than ours, M80 and 2 is no exception, due to the exceptional star formation rates occurring there, five times brighter. Here, in this image, each red shroud of torn clouds may contain thousands of lights turning on. And here it is now, extremely agitated, NGC 3081, an unusual barred lenticular galaxy, equipped with a nucleus, within the the turbulent activity of a supermassive black hole of about 10 million stellar disks have generated the formation of a resonance ring. A galaxy whose dimensions are comparable to those of M90 and 4 a bright spiral, which is also approximately twice smaller than the Milky Way and whose central nucleus, fed by the The gas falling into it has turned into a fireworks display. Similarly the core of the slightly more imposing NGC 922, a spiral torn apart by mergers past galactic bars and of a comparable size to NGC 1672, which is traversed by a bar It also has an extremely bright core, the center of intense activity. Now proceed to the breathtaking dimensions of the magnificent spiral galaxy, immortalized as it absorbs its nearby small satellite galaxy, NGC 5195. In this image, each point Blue is a cluster containing thousands of newly formed stars. And this couple in trouble could easily fit within our galaxy, the Milky Way. It must be said that, with a diameter of about 100,000 light years, this alone is capable of outshining in front of Zéfero's sextet, with whom he is now compared in size. And yet, despite immense as it may be, and despite containing 200 to 400 billion stars, our galaxy is, in a certain sense, no more than one among many others, which, although they may they are visually extremely different, yet they are in similar mass and size ranges, such as the stunning Active Galactic Nucleus Elliptical, NGC 5128, or the Spiral Galaxy The Whale, observed in profile, in song. Just like this pair of two galaxies that They are merging, and together they are slightly larger than our galaxy, in size comparable to the typical Elliptical Galaxy or Hubble, surrounded by its strange ring of blue stars, which are just a bit smaller than those of the imposing Galaxy of the Car Wheel. As for the Barred Spiral NGC 1300, which It also has a width of 130,000 light-years and possesses a bar that connects its arms to its core, so vast that we could easily align several within it. All galaxies giant galaxies we know, and in reality, however imposing they may be, all these galaxies are, in a way even dwarfs in the land of giants. Sketches of gigantism compared to the mind-bending bestiaries we will ultimately discover as we continue our ascent. Starting with the Giant Elliptical with rings of dust, NGC 7049, the barred spiral NGC 1097, here seen in the infrared domain. Or also the Giant Spiral Galaxy known as The Needle, also observed edge-on. And all of them are once and a half times wider than our Milky Way, and yet much smaller than the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365, the colliding galaxy pair ARP 81, or the immense Elliptical Galaxy with Formax filaments A. And those three galaxies are themselves a bit smaller, if that word still applies it makes sense that our imposing neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, with which we will collide in a few billion years. And here is where we begin to enter the universe of gold-category galaxies, featuring the stunning barred spiral NGC 4921 and the elliptical galaxy full of gas layers NGC 474, whose particularly distinctive shape is due to from the tide of the recent trend that, throughout its recent history, has also absorbed a considerable number of small galaxies, just like the Froglet's, one of whose Brazos literally dislocated after a violent interaction, to the point of leaving behind a kind of gigantic galactic tail, about 280,000 light-years long and rich in clusters of extremely massive blue stars. And this barred spiral that has spread, impressive as it is, does not compare to one of the largest known spiral galaxies, NGC 6872, which, with its extended arms, It is at least four times larger than our Milky Way by itself. In interaction with their neighboring galaxy IC 4970, they form a pair spanning nearly half a million light-years. A colossal size, comparable to Cygnus A, a radio galaxy an elliptical galaxy emitting powerful radio waves, and slightly inferior to the enormity of Malin. One, wrapped in a vast pale halo, alone measures 650,000 light-years in width, In reality, Malin 1 is so monumental that several of them could easily fit inside it. The pair of interacting spiral galaxies known as ARP 273. And yet, although it is currently the largest spiral galaxy known in the universe, Malin 1 remains relatively small in comparison to the lush size of the giant elliptical. M87, which, in the land of the queens of unparalleled discipline, It has a mass 200 times greater than that of our Milky Way. Here we see it in comparison of size. To reach such a size, M87 had to devouring and merging with dozens of other galaxies throughout its history, and thus ending approaching a diameter of a million light-years. And yet, M87 continues to exist. She too is just a sketch of gigantism when compared to the colossal Hercules A, a galaxy that it also possesses impressive amounts of matter and energy originating from a black hole hyperactive black hole hidden at its center. Hercules A is not only 15 times larger than our The galaxy is also extraordinarily heavier than everything we've just mentioned combined. However, although in the balance it is about a thousand times more massive than our Milky Way, Hercules A is not less than twice as heavy and four times less in extent than the which to this day remains the largest galaxy in the known universe, the astonishing IC 1101, a monster hosting more than 100 trillion stars and surpassing it eclipses all the galaxies we have just discussed. Because in terms of luminosity, IC 1101 is to our Milky Way what a forest fire is to The flame of a lighter. Well then, can you already imagine the situation? It's gigantic—and also incomplete. because we have only placed a few dozen galaxies, while ours the universe contains something like two billion. Two billion galaxies that in reality do not are absolutely stuck. And even if we could find them in the hearts of galactic clusters elliptical hypergiants such as M87, Hercules A, or also IC 1101, which over time through force of devouring and absorbing a considerable number of their neighbors, they have been able to reach such sizes. Galaxies, as a whole, continue to remain extremely scattered throughout the universe. And however vast they may be, all of them, without exception, are ridiculously small in comparison with the universe in its entirety. And to think big, to try to grasp its immensity, let us return to the scale of our Milky Way and its imposing neighbor, Andromeda. that here we are represented together. And although the proportions of size are correct represented, the distances separating these two galaxies are not. And when they are, when two million five hundred thousand light-years separate the two spirals, as actually occurs one realizes that space truly lives up to its name. Between Andromeda and our the Milky Way, in reality, would literally be able to accommodate nearly all the galaxies we are talking about previously. And yes, a full episode would be needed to pay tribute to distances unusual, enormous distances that separate us from those other universes—islands that are galaxies— And we will do it. But in the meantime, let the final word go to the incomparable IC-1101. placing it, for pleasure, between us and Andromeda.