WISE J224607.57−052635.0

WISE J224607.57−052635.0 (or W2246−0526 for short)^[3] is an extremely luminous infrared galaxy (ELIRG) which, in 2015, was announced as the most luminous known galaxy in the observable universe.^[3][4][5] The brightness of this galaxy is 350 trillion times^[3] that of the Sun (349 trillionL_☉^[1]). The merger of smaller nearby galaxies may be contributing to its brightness.^[3][4][5] The light is generated by a quasar 10 billion times the mass of the Sun. The high energy^[6] optical light and ultraviolet light emitted by the accretion disc around the quasar's supermassive black hole is absorbed by the galaxy's dust and re-emitted in the infrared. The galaxy releases 10,000 times more energy than the Milky Way galaxy, although WISE J224607.57–052635.0 is the smaller of the two. WISE J224607.57–052635.0 has a light-travel distance of 12.5 billion light years from it to Earth. The galaxy was discovered using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.^{[1][2][7][8][9]}

WISE J224607.57−052635.0
ALMA image of W2246−0526 merging with three nearby smaller galaxies
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Aquarius
Right ascension	22h 46m 07.57s[1]
Declination	−05° 26′ 35.0″[1]
Redshift	4.593[1]
Distance	12.5 billion light-years (3.8 billion parsecs) (light travel distance)[2] 25 billion light-years (7.7 billion parsecs) (comoving distance)
Characteristics
Type	LIRG
Size	30,000 ly (9,200 pc) (W2246-0526) 100,000 ly (31,000 pc)
Apparent size (V)	0.008 x 0.004 (W2246-0526) 0.03 x 0.015
Notable features	Interacting galaxies
Other designations
W2246−0526;[3] WISE 2246−0526; WISE J224607.55−052634.9;[3] WISE J224607.56−052634.9,[4] SDSS J224607.65-052639.4, [JBS2014] WJ2246-0526

Artist's impression of W2246-0526

See also

• SDSS J0100+2802, hyperluminous quasar