IC 1101 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy at the center of A2029 (Abell 2029 Galaxy Cluster). It also the brightest known member of A2029. It is possibly one of the largest and most luminous galaxies in the universe.
Origin[]
The galaxy was discovered on 19 June 1790, by the British astronomer William Herschel.
The name IC 1101 comes from the Index Catalogue, an astronomical catalog of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters. It serves as a supplement to the New General Catalogue. Another recognized catalog that was a predecessor to the Index Catalogue (IC)
Characteristics[]
There are an estimated 100 trillion stars in IC 1101. For comparison, the Andromeda Galaxy has 1 trillion stars.
Like most large galaxies, IC 1101 is populated by several metal-rich stars, some of which are seven billion years older than the Sun, making it appear golden yellow in color.
It has a bright radio source at the center, which is likely associated with an ultramassive black hole, the largest type of black hole. They are possibly hundreds of thousands to billions of solar masses. They are theorized to exist at the center of almost all massive galaxies like IC 1101.