Malin 1

Malin 1 is a giant low surface brightness (LSB) spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is located 1.19 billion light-years (366 Mpc) away near the North Galactic Pole, and is one of the largest known spiral galaxies, with an approximate diameter of 650,000 light-years (200,000 pc); this makes Malin 1 over six times the diameter of our Milky Way. It was discovered by astronomer David Malin in 1986, from which it derives its name, and is the first LSB galaxy verified to exist. Its bright center, an SB0a-type barred-spiral, is 30,000 light-years (9,200 pc) across, with a bulge of 10,000 light-years (3,100 pc).