ESO 306-17

ESO 306-17
Image of ESO 306-17 by the Hubble Space Telescope
Release date: 4 March 2010
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
ConstellationColumba
Right ascension05h 40m 06.73s
Declination−40° 50 10.6
Redshift0.035805±0.000083
Heliocentric radial velocity10,734±25 km/s
Galactocentric velocity10,544±26 km/s
Distance517.3 ± 36.20 Mly (158.6 ± 11.1 Mpc)h1
0.6774

(Comoving)
506 Mly (155.1 Mpc)h1
0.6774

(Light-travel)
Apparent magnitude (B)13.36
Characteristics
TypeE+3
Size1,070,000 ly × 706,100 ly
(328.04 kpc × 216.50 kpc)
(diameter; 90% total B-band light)
399,300 ly × 287,500 ly
(122.42 kpc × 88.15 kpc)
(diameter; "total" magnitude)
Apparent size (V)2.5 × 1.5 (V-band)
Other designations
MCG -07-12-009, PGC 17570

ESO 306-17 is a fossil group giant elliptical galaxy in the Columba constellation, about 1.07 million light-years in diameter, and roughly 517 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. The galaxy is a giant elliptical of type cD3 (E+3), one of the largest types of galaxies.