ESO 306-17 is a
fossil group
Fossil Group, Inc., is an American fashion designer and manufacturer founded in 1984 by Tom Kartsotis and based in Richardson, Texas. Their brands include Fossil, Relic, Michele Watch, Skagen Denmark, Misfit, WSI, and Zodiac Watches. Fos ...
giant
elliptical galaxy
An elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy with an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless image. They are one of the four main classes of galaxy described by Edwin Hubble in his Hubble sequence and 1936 work ''The R ...
in the
Columba constellation, about 1 million light-years in diameter, and roughly 500 million light-years away.
[
The galaxy is situated alone in a volume of space about it. It is theorized that the galaxy cannibalized its nearest companions, hence, being a fossil group.][Astronomy Now]
"Bully galaxy rules the neighbourhood"
Emily Baldwin, ''4 March 2010'' (accessed 5 March 2010) The galaxy is a giant elliptical of type cD3[ (E+3), one of the largest types of galaxies.]
References
* Discovery News
"Bully for ESO 306-17"
Jennifer Ouellette, ''3 March 2010'' (accessed 5 March 2010)
* EurekAlert
"ACS Image of ESO 306-17"
Colleen Sharkey, ''4 March 2010'' (accessed 5 March 2010)
Columba (constellation)
Elliptical galaxies
17570
306-17
-07-12-009
{{Elliptical-galaxy-stub