How Large Can Galaxies Get? Exploring the Universe's Biggest Structures
By
Phil Plait
2d ago· 8 min readenInsight
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Summary
This article explores the scale of galaxies in the universe, examining how large galaxies can get based on deep sky surveys. It discusses UGC 2885 (Rubin's galaxy), a massive spiral galaxy 2.5 times wider than the Milky Way with 10 times as many stars, yet still smaller than many elliptical galaxies. The piece investigates whether even larger galaxies exist beyond what we've observed, highlighting the challenges of measuring and discovering the biggest galaxies in the cosmos.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledGalaxies, like so many other astronomical objects, are surprisingly difficult to define precisely.
Deep surveys of the sky have turned up galaxies vastly larger than our own.
It is 2.5 times wider than our Milky Way and contains 10 times as many stars—yet it's still far smaller than many elliptical galaxies.
Deep surveys of the sky have turned up galaxies vastly larger than our own. Are there even bigger ones yet to be seen?
