WISE J224607.57−052635.0
Most luminous galaxy in the Universe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WISE J224607.57−052635.0 (or W2246−0526 for short)[2] is an extremely luminous infrared galaxy (ELIRG) which, in 2015, was announced as the most luminous known galaxy in the observable universe.[2][3][4] The brightness of this galaxy is 350 trillion times[2] that of the Sun (349 trillion L☉[1]). The merger of smaller nearby galaxies may be contributing to its brightness.[2][3][4] The light is generated by a quasar 10 billion times the mass of the Sun. The high energy[5] optical light and ultraviolet light emitted by the accretion disc around the quasar's supermassive black hole is absorbed by the galaxy's dust and re-emitted in the infrared. The galaxy releases 10,000 times more energy than the Milky Way galaxy, although WISE J224607.57–052635.0 is the smaller of the two. WISE J224607.57–052635.0 has a light-travel distance of 12.5 billion light years from it to Earth. The galaxy was discovered using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.[1][6][7][8][9]
| WISE J224607.57−052635.0 | |
|---|---|
ALMA image of W2246−0526 merging with three nearby smaller galaxies | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Aquarius |
| Right ascension | 22h 46m 07.57s[1] |
| Declination | −05° 26′ 35.0″[1] |
| Redshift | 4.593[1] |
| Distance | 12,000 Gly (3,680 Gpc) (Light travel distance) 24,420 Gly (7,488 Gpc) (Comoving distance) |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | LIRG |
| Size | 30,000 ly (9,200 pc) (W2246-0526) 100,000 ly (31,000 pc) |
| Apparent size (V) | 0.008 x 0.004 (W2246-0526) 0.03 x 0.015 |
| Notable features | Interacting galaxies |
| Other designations | |
| W2246−0526;[2] WISE 2246−0526; WISE J224607.55−052634.9;[2] WISE J224607.56−052634.9,[3] SDSS J224607.65-052639.4, [JBS2014] WJ2246-0526 | |
See also
- SDSS J0100+2802, hyperluminous quasar
