Object Analysis

Malmquist 1 is a massive elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Cassiopeia. Like many galaxies near the galactic plane, it is heavily obscured by the dust and gas of our own Milky Way, sitting in the "Zone of Avoidance." It was discovered in 1968 by Gunnar Malmquist.

It is one of the closest giant elliptical galaxies to our Local Group, located roughly 10 million light-years away. Despite its size, it appears very faint in visible light. It is part of the Maffei Group of galaxies, which were likely once part of our Local Group before being ejected by gravitational interactions.

Studies of Malmquist 1 are usually conducted in the infrared, where the dust of the Milky Way is more transparent. It contains an ancient population of stars and very little gas, and it likely formed through the merger of multiple smaller galaxies in the early universe.