Spiderweb Galaxy | |
---|---|
Observation data (J2000.0[1] epoch) | |
Constellation | Hydra |
Right ascension | 11h 40m 48.3s [1] |
Declination | −26° 29′ 09″ [1] |
Redshift | 2.156 [1] |
Distance | 10.6 billion light-years (light travel distance) ~18 billion light-years (present comoving distance) |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 22.00 [1] |
Apparent magnitude (B) | 18.04 [1] |
Characteristics | |
Type | Irr-II |
Other designations | |
Spiderweb Galaxy,[1] MRC 1138-262,[1] PKS 1138-26,[1] PGC 2826829[1] |
The Spiderweb Galaxy (PGC 2826829, MRC 1138-262) is an irregular galaxy located in the Hydra constellation, with a redshift of 2.156, which is 10.6 billion light years from the Milky Way.[2] It has been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on 12 October 2006.[3] It was thoroughly studied through radio astronomy, but it was not until the Hubble Telescope took a mosaic of photographs from May 17 to May 22, 2005, that its true nature became known.[4] This was documented for the first time on October 10, 2006, in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, volume 650, number 1.[2] The photography was carried out using an advanced camera for surveys by a team led by George K. Miley of the Netherlands' Leiden Observatory.