Astronomers Detect the Densest Galaxy Yet Discovered

Imagine the distance to Alpha Centauri, the closest star to our sun. That distance is four light-years. Now imagine that distance filled with 10,000 of our suns.

That's exactly the density of the galaxy discovered by a group of astronomers who are faculty members at Michigan State University.

"This galaxy is much higher density than comparable ultracompact dwarf galaxies, and it's the highest density galaxy in the visible universe," said Jay Strader, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at MSU.

This dwarf galaxy was discovered in the region reported as the Virgo galaxy cluster, 54 million light-years away from our galaxy.

An interesting aspect of the galaxy, designated M60-UCD1, is that half of its total mass is concentrated in a region just 80 light-years across. This means the Milky Way is 15,000 times more dense than Earth's inhabitants.

"Interstellar travel would be much easier in this galaxy than in ours. Because the stars are so close together, travel would take much less time than it does here," said Jay Strader.

Another discovery is the detection of very strong X-ray radiation at the center of the galaxy. The only explanation for this is that a supermassive black hole with a mass of 10 million solar masses is at the center of the galaxy.

Source:

Science Daily-Astronomers Discover Densest Galaxy Ever

University of Michigan-ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER DENSEST GALAXY EVER

Michigan StateUniversity. “Astronomers discover densest galaxy ever.” ScienceDaily, 24 Sep. 2013. Web. 25 Sep. 2013.