Abell 1942 BCG is one of the
largest galaxies with a
diameter of 939,200 light-years across. A luminous red galaxy observed by
Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the total
stellar mass of the galaxy is estimated to be ~3 × 1011 Msolar. It is also classfied as an
active wide-angled tailed
radio galaxy. With an
astrophysical jet speed within of the range (0.3-0.7)c and a peaked
spectrum source of between 1.4 GHz and 325
MHz, Abell 1942 BCG is found to be radio-luminous with values below 1022 WHz−1 at 1.4 GHz. Moreover, Abell 1942 BCG contains an extended
radio source listed by researchers in the 408-MHz
Molonglo Reference Catalogue and also
Parkes Catalogue of radio sources. Its
luminosity function is estimated to be
frequencies of 400 and 2700 MHz. Abell 1942 BCG is aligned along its
major axis towards its parent cluster. It has a large
galactic halo displaying a light profile with
surface brightness ranging from 27.5 mag arcsec-2 at 100 kpc to ~32 mag arcsec-2 at 700 kpc as observed through
r-bands. Such of these light profiles in massive galaxies like Abell 1942 BCG tend to reach up to several hundreds of kilometers. Because Abell 1942 BCG has special properties, researchers theorized it might have been formed through the process of
galactic cannibalism as the galaxy
merges with its surrounding
satellite galaxies thus increasing its
luminosity. As merger process continues, the mass of Abell 1942 BCG is build-up while at the same time, the number of satellite galaxies reduces. The
star formation in Abell 1942 BCG, is estimated to contribute less
mass friction and a
stellar age of 200 Myr. Because the galaxy host's cluster has
X-ray properties and the young
star population, this strongly hints the star formation of Abell 1942 BCG is fueled by gas cooling out of the
intracluster medium. As observed by
Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX),
Spitzer Space Telescope, and
Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), researchers found the galaxy displays
ultraviolet (38%) and
mid-infrared emission (43%) from 8 to 160 μm, above as expected. == Abell 1942 ==