This is a list of galaxies with richest known globular cluster systems. As of 2019, the galaxy NGC 6166 has the richest globular cluster system, with 39 000 globular clusters.[1] Other galaxies with rich globular cluster systems are NGC 4874, NGC 4889, NGC 3311 and Messier 87. For comparison, the Milky Way has a poor globular cluster system, with only 150-180 globular clusters.
| Galaxy | Image | Number of globular clusters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 6166 | |
39 000 ± 2000[1] | Richest known globular cluster system |
| NGC 4874 |  |
18 700 ± 2260[2] | Richest globular cluster system in Coma cluster |
| NGC 3311 |  |
16 500 ± 2000[3] | Richest globular cluster system in southern part of the sky and in Hydra cluster |
| Messier 87 |  |
12 000 ± 800[4] | Richest globular cluster system in Virgo Supercluster and richest in Messier Catalog. Also richest within 100 million light-years. Data from 2006 survey |
| NGC 4889 |  |
11 000 ± 1340[5] | Largest galaxy in this list (diameter is about 1050 000 light-years) |
| IC 4051 |  |
6700 ± 530[5] | Richest globular cluster system in IC catalog |
| NGC 1395 |  |
6000 ± 1100 | Richest globular cluster system in Eridanus Cluster, divided into two populations (red and blue) |
| NGC 1399 |  |
6000 ± 600 | Richest globular cluster system in Fornax Cluster, most clusters are given |
| Messier 49 |  |
5900 | |
| Messier 60 |  |
5100[6] | |
| Messier 86 |  |
3800 | Richest globular cluster system in Markarian's Chain |
| NGC 6861 |  |
3000 ± 300[7] | |
| NGC 1600 |  |
2850 | |
| Messier 59 |  |
2200 | |
| Messier 89 |  |
2000 | Data from 2006 survey |
| Messier 84 |  |
1775 ± 150 | |
| Sombrero Galaxy |  |
1600 ± 400 | Richest globular cluster system around named galaxy |
| Centaurus A |  |
1450 ± 160[8] | |
| NGC 4278 |  |
1378+32 −194 |
|
| NGC 4926 |  |
1300 ± 300[5] | |
| Maffei 1 |  |
1100 | Closest galaxy in this list (distance is about 11 000 000 light-years) |
References
edit- ^ a b Harris, William E.; Blakeslee, John P.; Whitmore, Bradley C.; Gnedin, Oleg Y.; Geisler, Douglas; Rothberg, Barry (January 2016). "Globular Cluster Systems in Brightest Cluster Galaxies. Ii. NGC 6166". The Astrophysical Journal. 817 (1): 58. arXiv:1511.08493. Bibcode:2016ApJ...817...58H. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/817/1/58. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 118501801.
- ^ "Galaxies in a swarm of star clusters". www.spacetelescope.org.
- ^ Woodley, Kristin A.; Rothberg, Barry; Whitmore, Bradley C.; Harris, William E.; Wehner, Elizabeth M. H. (July 10, 2008). "The Globular Cluster Systems around NGC 3311 and NGC 3309". The Astrophysical Journal. 681 (2): 1233. arXiv:0802.1723. Bibcode:2008ApJ...681.1233W. doi:10.1086/587433.
- ^ Tamura, N.; Sharples, R. M.; Arimoto, N.; Onodera, M.; Ohta, K.; Yamada, Y. (2006-12-01). "A Subaru/Suprime-Cam wide-field survey of globular cluster populations around M87 - I. Observation, data analysis and luminosity function". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 373 (2): 588–600. arXiv:astro-ph/0609067. Bibcode:2006MNRAS.373..588T. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11067.x. ISSN 0035-8711.
- ^ a b c Harris, William E.; Kavelaars, J. J.; Hanes, David A.; Pritchet, Christopher J.; Baum, W. A. (2009-02-01). "The Globular Cluster Systems in the Coma Ellipticals. Iv: Wfpc2 Photometry for Five Giant Ellipticals". The Astronomical Journal. 137 (2): 3314–3328. arXiv:0811.1437. Bibcode:2009AJ....137.3314H. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/137/2/3314. ISSN 0004-6256.
- ^ "Messier Object 60". www.messier.seds.org.
- ^ "The extremely populated globular cluster system of the lenticular galaxy NGC 6861". ResearchGate.
- ^ Hughes, Allison K.; Sand, David J.; Seth, Anil; Strader, Jay; Voggel, Karina; Dumont, Antoine; Crnojević, Denija; Caldwell, Nelson; Forbes, Duncan A.; Simon, Joshua D.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Toloba, Elisa (2021). "NGC 5128 Globular Cluster Candidates Out to 150 KPC: A Comprehensive Catalog from Gaia and Ground-based Data". The Astrophysical Journal. 914 (1): 16. arXiv:2104.02719. Bibcode:2021ApJ...914...16H. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abf63c. S2CID 233168727.