A2261-BCG


A2261-BCG is a huge elliptical galaxy in the cluster Abell 2261. One of the largest galaxies known, A2261-BCG is estimated to have a diameter of a million light-years, some 10 times larger than the Milky Way. It is the brightest and the most massive galaxy in the cluster, and has the largest galactic core ever observed, spanning more than 10,000 light-years.
The cD elliptical galaxy, located at least 3 billion light-years from Earth, is also well known as a radio source. Its core is highly populated by a dense number of old stars, but is mysteriously diffuse, giving it a large core.
On September 10, 2012, using Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3, scientists found out that there was no supermassive black hole present in the center.