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