This is a list of galaxies with richest known globular cluster systems. As of 2019, the galaxy NGC 6166 has the richest globular cluster system, with 39 000 globular clusters. Other galaxies with rich globular cluster systems are NGC 4874, NGC 4889, NGC 3311 and Messier 87. For comparison, the Milky Way has a poor globular cluster system, with only 150-180 globular clusters.
| Galaxy | Image | Number of globular clusters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 6166 | |
39 000 ± 2000 | Richest known globular cluster system |
| NGC 4874 |  |
18 700 ± 2260 | Richest globular cluster system in Coma cluster |
| NGC 3311 |  |
16 500 ± 2000 | Richest globular cluster system in southern part of the sky and in Hydra cluster |
| Messier 87 |  |
12 000 ± 800 | Richest globular cluster system in Virgo Supercluster and richest in Messier Catalog. Also richest within 100 million light-years. Data from 2006 survey |
| NGC 4889 |  |
11 000 ± 1340 | Largest galaxy in this list (diameter is about 1050 000 light-years) |
| IC 4051 |  |
6700 ± 530 | Richest globular cluster system in IC catalog |
| NGC 1395 |  |
6000 ± 1100 | Richest globular cluster system in Eridanus Cluster, divided into two populations (red and blue) |
| NGC 1399 |  |
6000 ± 600 | Richest globular cluster system in Fornax Cluster, most clusters are given |
| Messier 49 |  |
5900 | |
| Messier 60 |  |
5100 | |
| Messier 86 |  |
3800 | Richest globular cluster system in Markarian's Chain |
| NGC 6861 |  |
3000 ± 300 | |
| NGC 1600 |  |
2850 | |
| Messier 59 |  |
2200 | |
| Messier 89 |  |
2000 | Data from 2006 survey |
| Messier 84 |  |
1775 ± 150 | |
| Sombrero Galaxy |  |
1600 ± 400 | Richest globular cluster system around named galaxy |
| Centaurus A |  |
1450 ± 160 | |
| NGC 4278 |  |
1378+32 −194 |
|
| NGC 4926 |  |
1300 ± 300 | |
| Maffei 1 |  |
1100 | Closest galaxy in this list (distance is about 11 000 000 light-years) |
References
- ^ Harris, William E.; Blakeslee, John P.; Whitmore, Bradley C.; Gnedin, Oleg Y.; Geisler, Douglas; Rothberg, Barry (January 2016). "Globular Cluster Systems in Brightest Cluster Galaxies. Ii. NGC 6166". The Astrophysical Journal. 817 (1): 58. arXiv:1511.08493. Bibcode:2016ApJ...817...58H. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/817/1/58. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 118501801.
- "Galaxies in a swarm of star clusters". www.spacetelescope.org.
- Woodley, Kristin A.; Rothberg, Barry; Whitmore, Bradley C.; Harris, William E.; Wehner, Elizabeth M. H. (July 10, 2008). "The Globular Cluster Systems around NGC 3311 and NGC 3309". The Astrophysical Journal. 681 (2): 1233. arXiv:0802.1723. Bibcode:2008ApJ...681.1233W. doi:10.1086/587433.
- Tamura, N.; Sharples, R. M.; Arimoto, N.; Onodera, M.; Ohta, K.; Yamada, Y. (2006-12-01). "A Subaru/Suprime-Cam wide-field survey of globular cluster populations around M87 - I. Observation, data analysis and luminosity function". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 373 (2): 588–600. arXiv:astro-ph/0609067. Bibcode:2006MNRAS.373..588T. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11067.x. ISSN 0035-8711.
- ^ Harris, William E.; Kavelaars, J. J.; Hanes, David A.; Pritchet, Christopher J.; Baum, W. A. (2009-02-01). "The Globular Cluster Systems in the Coma Ellipticals. Iv: Wfpc2 Photometry for Five Giant Ellipticals". The Astronomical Journal. 137 (2): 3314–3328. arXiv:0811.1437. Bibcode:2009AJ....137.3314H. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/137/2/3314. ISSN 0004-6256.
- "Messier Object 60". www.messier.seds.org.
- "The extremely populated globular cluster system of the lenticular galaxy NGC 6861". ResearchGate.
- Hughes, Allison K.; Sand, David J.; Seth, Anil; Strader, Jay; Voggel, Karina; Dumont, Antoine; Crnojević, Denija; Caldwell, Nelson; Forbes, Duncan A.; Simon, Joshua D.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Toloba, Elisa (2021). "NGC 5128 Globular Cluster Candidates Out to 150 KPC: A Comprehensive Catalog from Gaia and Ground-based Data". The Astrophysical Journal. 914 (1): 16. arXiv:2104.02719. Bibcode:2021ApJ...914...16H. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abf63c. S2CID 233168727.