An international team of astronomers has discovered the most massive of all known galaxies. For observation tool was used, when ISAAC famous telescope (Very Large Telescope Paranal Observatory (Paranal Observatory).

This galaxy, received name ISOHDFS 27, is located at a distance of about 6 billion light years away (the value of red shift equals 0.58). Its mass is more than 1000 billion times the mass of the Sun. Thus, this galaxy is about four times more massive than our Galaxy and twice that of the massive spiral galaxy known so far.

Optical image of a distant galaxy ISOHDFS 27 received space telescope Hubble. The angular size of galaxies approximately 7 arcsec, which corresponds to 130 000 light-years (40 kpc) on the distance equal to 6 billion light years. The inclination of the plane of the galaxy to the line of sight is about 50 degrees

Determination of the mass of the galaxy ISOHDFS 27 based on measuring the movements of stars and nebulae around the galactic centre. The higher the speed, the greater the mass of an object. This, in essence, the same method, which allows to determine the mass of the Earth, based on orbital speed and distance to the moon.

One of the tasks of modern cosmology is to understand how stars evolve in galaxies and how to shape and develop themselves galaxy. With the advent of large optical and infrared telescopes, such as the ESO VLT, astronomers have been able to watch, very distant objects and, therefore, as if to look at the past, at a time when the young Universe was formed galaxies. Because the distance to 6 billion light-years means that we see the galaxy as it was 6 billion years ago. Observations in the infrared region of the spectrum allow to minimize the effects of radiation absorption dust clouds.

While not well known, what mechanisms cause increased activity of star formation, but it is assumed that the important role it can play collisions and merging of galaxies. Star formation occurs typically at a depth of dust clouds, which absorb the optical and ultraviolet radiation from young stars and re-emit it in the infrared region of the spectrum. Therefore, the characteristics of the process of formation of stars is best to seek, observing in the infrared part of the spectrum. Using detailed infrared observations of distant galaxies we can understand, as in the past, formed the basic structures, such as spiral sleeves and bright star of Baldi observed in the majority of galaxies.

In the years 1995-98 infrared camera ISOCAM, installed on Board the infrared space Observatory (Infrared Space Observatory), European Astronomical Society, for the first time has allowed astronomers to look at the Universe in infrared light. So was discovered new category of objects - light of distant galaxies with increased infrared radiation (galaxy ISOHDFS). Some of them have become the objects of the researches in 1999-2000. However, all these galaxies are at very large distances from us several billion light-years (redshifts from 0.6 to 1.5). Besides, this is a weak objects.

In September 1999, a group of astronomers has obtained spectra of about a dozen of these galaxies. Were found spectral lines of hydrogen atoms H-alpha and determined that the radiation emerging in dusty areas with intense star formation. Then determined the exact magnitude of red shifts (and hence the distance of individual galaxies) by measuring the Doppler shift of alpha-hydrogen lines in the infrared spectra of galaxies. In August 2000, the observations were performed ISOHDFS galaxies on the VLT, which were measured mass of the Central regions of galaxies.