The giant elliptical galaxy ESO 306-17

This image from the Advanced Camera for Surveys of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope highlights the large and bright elliptical galaxy called ESO 306-17 in the southern sky.
It appears that ESO 306-17 is surrounded by other galaxies but the bright galaxies at bottom left are thought to be in the foreground, not at the same distance in the sky. In reality, ESO 306-17 lies fairly abandoned in an enormous sea of dark matter and hot gas.
Researchers are also using this image to search for nearby ultra-compact dwarf galaxies. These are mini versions of dwarf galaxies that have been left with only their core after interaction with larger, more powerful galaxies. Most ultra-compact dwarfs discovered to date are near giant elliptical galaxies in large clusters of galaxies, so it will be interesting to see if researchers find similar objects in fossil groups.