How Big Is The Biggest Galaxy In The Universe

Within the observable universe, there are more than 100 billion galaxies that come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and ages. From the most common spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, to the ancient elliptical galaxies that are much older and larger. Our cosmic home, the Milky Way galaxy, is estimated to contain between 100 and 400 billion stars, and spans a huge area of over 100,000 light years across. But compared to other galaxies that have been discovered so far, it certainly is not the biggest. Our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, is significantly larger, spanning a massive 220,000 light years in diameter, more than double the Milky Way. The nicknamed Comet galaxy is bigger yet, spanning a gigantic 600,000 light years. And the largest of the spiral galaxies, known as UGC 2885, reaches an enormous 832,000 light years across. However, there are bigger, much bigger in fact, and these are the supergiant elliptical types. For example, NGC 4889, which can be found in the Northern Coma Cluster, reaches a colossal 1.3 million light years across. But the largest galaxy discovered so far is known as IC 1101. This monster elliptical galaxy is estimated to be a mind-blowing 6 million light years across. And not only that, it may contain at its centre, the largest black hole in the universe. It is located around 1 billion light years away, and has the mass of about 100 trillion stars. If our galaxy were to be replaced with IC 1101, it would swallow up both Magellanic Clouds, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Triangulum Galaxy, and almost all of the space in between. IC 1101's staggering size is a result of billions of years of colliding and merging with other galaxies. But unfortunately, this supergiant is believed to be dying, as it doesn't seem to be producing many new stars. It is yellow in colour, which indicates very little new stars are forming due to a lack of gas and dust, unlike blue galaxies that are active and alive for example. IC 1101 will slowly fade away into the darkness of space in the future, but this titan currently still sits at the top of the list as the largest known galaxy in the universe, and likely will do either until it fades away, or the Hubble Space Telescope discovers an even larger one. I really hope you enjoyed this quick video, make sure to check out some of my other videos if you did, and remember to hit that subscribe button if you haven't already. Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you next time.