List of largest galaxies


This is a list of largest galaxies known, sorted by order of increasing major axis diameters. The unit of measurement used is the light-year.

Overview

are vast collections of stars, planets, nebulae and other objects that are surrounded by an interstellar medium and held together by gravity. They do not have a definite boundary by nature, and are characterized with gradually decreasing stellar density as a function of increasing distance from its center. Because of this, measuring the sizes of galaxies can often be difficult and have a wide range of results depending on the sensitivity of the detection equipment and the methodology being used. Some galaxies emit more strongly in wavelengths outside the visible spectrum, depending on its stellar population, whose stars may emit more strongly in other wavelengths that are beyond the detection range. It is also important to consider the morphology of the galaxy when attempting to measure its size – an issue that has been raised by the Russian astrophysicist B.A. Vorontsov-Vel'Yaminov in 1961, which considers separate determination methods in measuring the sizes of spiral and elliptical galaxies.
For a full context about how the diameters of galaxies are measured, including the estimation methods stated in this list, see section Galaxy#Physical diameters.

List

Listed below are galaxies with diameters greater than 700,000 light-years. This list uses the mean cosmological parameters of the Lambda-CDM model based on results from the 2015 Planck collaboration, where H0 = 67.74 km/s/Mpc, ΩΛ = 0.6911, and Ωm = 0.3089. Due to different techniques, each figure listed on the galaxies has varying degrees of confidence in them. The reference to those sizes plus further additional details can be accessed by clicking the link for the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database on the right-hand side of the table.
Galaxy name/designationMajor axis diameter Minor axis diameter MorphologyEstimation
method		Link for object
ESO 383-76 cD5; E5; BrClG90% total B-light
ESO 248-6 S0?; BrClG90% total B-light
ESO 409-25 cD4; E4; BrClG90% total B-light
Abell 3039 BCG BcD2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 347-9 S...; cD90% total B-light
2MASX J14102504+6337103~2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 151-41 Sc90% total B-light
MCG-04-02-013E27.0 B-mag arcsec−2
Abell 1576 BCGcD db2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 306-17 cD3; E390% total B-light
ESO 350-15 cD3; E390% total B-light
OGC 94BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 2397 BCGcD2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 1146 BCGE2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 747 BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 1273002BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 1838034BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 473-5 Sc; BrClG90% total B-light
Abell 1942 BCGBrClG; AGN2MASS K-band total mag
2MASX J12114313+0801071~2MASS K-band total mag
MCG +09-25-047~Intermediate surface brightness
LEDA 1654342BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 156-18 SAB00: pec90% total B-light
OGC 169BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 384 BCG~2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 206-2 cD; S90% total B-light
ESO 286-41 SA0+; cD90% total B-light
Abell 697 BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 511BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 3300 BCGcD2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 666BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 1437B BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 116BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 443-11 cD; SAB00 pec; BrClG27.0 B-mag arcsec−2
QSO J0931+3204~2MASS K-band total mag
4C +41.26BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 963 BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 541-13 cD; E3 pec90% total B-light
OGC 560BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
MACS J0024.5+3312 BCG~2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 369BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 1602 BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
B3 1448+445BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
NGC 623cD; E27.0 B-mag arcsec−2
PGC 6616E27.0 B-mag arcsec−2
Abell 1413 BCGcD; E; BrClG25.0 r-mag arcsec−2
LEDA 1143180~2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 773N BCGBrClG; cD2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 291-9 cD4; SA0−;BrClG90% total B-light
Abell 1504 BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
LCSB S1161PBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 31~2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 763~2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 1816387~2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 1118210BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
NVSS J080730+340042BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 2066332~2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 1311BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 812 BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 856BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
7C 1043+5953BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 1785B BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 2463193BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
NGC 5084S090% total B-light
Abell 781 bBrClG25.0 r-mag arcsec−2
B2 1132+32BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 231BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 26BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 655 BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 499~2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 1969788BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 1460988BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
2MASX J01331683+2311233~2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 908 BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
2MASX J00193870+0335573~2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 2061 bBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 2397 G1cD2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 188BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 198-1 cD4; E427.0 B-mag arcsec−2
3C 295E/S0;LEG;BrClG NLRG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 199BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 267 BCGBrClG25.0 r-mag arcsec−2
Abell 1758N BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 360 BCGcD2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 251-21 SAB0- pec; E/S090% total B-light
OGC 667BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 2188433BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 235BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 1807 BCGcD2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 898~2MASS K-band total mag
NGC 6872SABc25.5 r-mag arcsec−2
Abell S1077 BCG~2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 2125 BCGE2MASS K-band total mag
B3 1715+425BrClG; AGN2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 2219 BCGBrClG2MASS K-band total mag
OGC 966BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 552-20 cD; E90% total B-light
OGC 512BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
ESO 11-4 cD4; E4 pec90% total B-light
IC 1633cD; E127.0 B-mag arcsec−2
ESO 443-4 cD; S0; BrClG90% total B-light
LEDA 2262657BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
LEDA 1869052BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
NGC 1759cD; E27.0 B-mag arcsec−2
LEDA 1869814BrClG2MASS K-band total mag
2MFGC 12274~25.0 B-mag arcsec−2
Abell S235 BCGcD2MASS K-band total mag

Listed below are some notable galaxies under 700,000 light-years in diameter, for the purpose of comparison. All links to NED are available, except for the Milky Way, which is linked to the relevant paper detailing its size.
Galaxy name/designationMajor axis diameter Minor axis diameter MorphologyEstimation
method		Link for object
ESO 444-46 cD4; E4; BrClG27.0 B-mag arcsec−2
NGC 4038SBm pec27.0 B-mag arcsec−2
Tadpole GalaxySBc pec25.0 B-mag arcsec−2
IC 1101cD; S0-2MASS K-band total mag
Abell 2261 BCGcD; E2MASS K-band total mag
Hercules AE; WLRG; NLRG2MASS K-band total mag
UGC 2885 SAc25.0 B-mag arcsec−2
NGC 1399cD; E1 pec90% total B-light
NeVe 1cD; E2MASS K-band total mag
AlcyoneusE25.0 r-mag arcsec−2
Andromeda GalaxySAb25.0 mag/arcsec2
Centaurus AS0pec; Sy2; BL Lac90% total B-light
Messier 87cD; E0-E1 pec; NLRG; Sy25.0 B-mag arcsec−2
Malin 1S; LSB2MASS K-band total mag
NGC 262SA0/a; Sy22MASS K-band total mag
Messier 81 ~SAab; LINER2MASS K-band total mag
Milky WaySb; Sbc; SBbc25.0 B-mag arcsec−2
Messier 82 I0; Sburst2MASS K-band total mag
Large Magellanic Cloud~SBm25.0 B-mag arcsec−2