BREAKING NEWS: Malin 1: A Bizarre Galaxy Gets Slightly Less So

Malin 1, the prototypical giant low surface brightness galaxy, harbors a
normal disk of stars, says an astronomer in California. A Hubble image
reveals a barred spiral galaxy at Malin 1's center. As a result, Malin 1 may
no longer be classified as a low surface brightness galaxy.

Discovered in 1986, Malin 1 is the largest spiral galaxy in the universe.
Its spiral disk is 650,000 light-years across--several times bigger than the
Milky Way's--but the stars are so spread out from one another that the disk
looks extremely diffuse, having what astronomers call a low surface
brightness.

For the full story, including a never-before-published HST image of Malin 1,
please see http://KenCroswell.com/Malin1.html .

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