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What is one way that an elliptical galaxy differs from the other types of galaxies?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Elliptical galaxies are large blob shaped galaxies that most galaxies will eventually look like. Elliptical galaxies are what happens when two or more large galaxies collide and coalesce.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
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Do all the galaxies form a bigger galaxy?
Over time - billions of years - galaxies will merge with other galaxies. In about 3 billion years, the Andromeda galaxy will merge with our own galaxy, the Milky Way.However, the separation between galaxies is so great, that not all galaxies will merge unless the fundamental issue of the amount of mass in the Universe is determined.If we live in a "contracting universe" then eventually all galaxies will merge.
What is the order in decreasing size of spiral giant elliptical dwarf elliptical and irregular galaxies?
Galaxies come in three main types: ellipticals, spirals, and irregulars. A slightly more extensive description of galaxy types based on their appearance is given by the Hubble sequence. Since the Hubble sequence is entirely based upon visual morphological type, it may miss certain important characteristics of galaxies such as star formation rate (in starburst galaxies) and activity in the core (in active galaxies).Elliptical galaxyThe Hubble classification system rates elliptical galaxies on the basis of their ellipticity, ranging from E0, being nearly spherical, up to E7, which is highly elongated. These galaxies have an ellipsoidal profile, giving them an elliptical appearance regardless of the viewing angle. Their appearance shows little structure and they typically have relatively little interstellar matter. Consequently these galaxies also have a low portion of open clusters and a reduced rate of new star formation. Instead the galaxy is dominated by generally older, more evolved stars that are orbiting the common center of gravity in random directions. In this sense they have some similarity to the much smaller globular clusters.The largest galaxies are giant ellipticals. Many elliptical galaxies are believed to form due to the interaction of galaxies, resulting in a collision and merger. They can grow to enormous sizes (compared to spiral galaxies, for example), and giant elliptical galaxies are often found near the core of large galaxy clusters.Starburst galaxies are the result of such a galactic collision that can result in the formation of an elliptical galaxy.Spiral galaxy and Barred spiral galaxyThe Sombrero Galaxy, an example of an unbarred spiral galaxy. Credit:Hubble Space Telescope/NASA/ESA.Spiral galaxies consist of a rotating disk of stars and interstellar medium, along with a central bulge of generally older stars. Extending outward from the bulge are relatively bright arms. In the Hubble classification scheme, spiral galaxies are listed as type S, followed by a letter (a, b, or c) that indicates the degree of tightness of the spiral arms and the size of the central bulge. An Sa galaxy has tightly wound, poorly-defined arms and possesses a relatively large core region. At the other extreme, an Sc galaxy has open, well-defined arms and a small core region.In spiral galaxies, the spiral arms have the shape of approximate logarithmic spirals, a pattern that can be theoretically shown to result from a disturbance in a uniformly rotating mass of stars. Like the stars, the spiral arms also rotate around the center, but they do so with constant angular velocity. That means that stars pass in and out of spiral arms, with stars near the galactic core orbiting faster than the arms are moving while stars near the outer parts of the galaxy typically orbit more slowly than the arms. The spiral arms are thought to be areas of high density matter, or "density waves". As stars move through an arm, the space velocity of each stellar system is modified by the gravitational force of the higher density. (The velocity returns to normal after the stars depart on the other side of the arm.) This effect is akin to a "wave" of slowdowns moving along a highway full of moving cars. The arms are visible because the high density facilitates star formation, and therefore they harbor many bright and young stars.NGC 1300, an example of a barred spiral galaxy. Credit:Hubble Space Telescope/NASA/ESA.A majority of spiral galaxies have a linear, bar-shaped band of stars that extends outward to either side of the core, then merges into the spiral arm structure. In the Hubble classification scheme, these are designated by an SB, followed by a lower-case letter (a, b or c) that indicates the form of the spiral arms (in the same manner as the categorization of normal spiral galaxies). Bars are thought to be temporary structures that can occur as a result of a density wave radiating outward from the core, or else due to a tidal interaction with another galaxy. Many barred spiral galaxies are active, possibly as a result of gas being channeled into the core along the arms.Our own galaxy is a large disk-shaped barred-spiral galaxy about 30 kiloparsecs in diameter and a kiloparsec in thickness. It contains about two hundred billion (2×1011) stars and has a total mass of about six hundred billion (6×1011) times the mass of the Sun.Other morphologiesHoag's Object, an example of a ring galaxy. Credit:Hubble Space Telescope/NASA/ESA.Peculiar galaxies are galactic formations that develop unusual properties due to tidal interactions with other galaxies. An example of this is the ring galaxy, which possesses a ring-like structure of stars and interstellar medium surrounding a bare core. A ring galaxy is thought to occur when a smaller galaxy passes through the core of a spiral galaxy. Such an event may have affected the Andromeda Galaxy, as it displays a multi-ring-like structure when viewed in infrared radiation.A lenticular galaxy is an intermediate form that has properties of both elliptical and spiral galaxies. These are categorized as Hubble type S0, and they possess ill-defined spiral arms with an elliptical halo of stars. (Barred lenticular galaxies receive Hubble classification SB0.)NGC 5866, an example of a lenticular galaxy. Credit:Hubble Space Telescope/NASA/ESAIn addition to the classifications mentioned above, there are a number of galaxies that can not be readily classified into an elliptical or spiral morphology. These are categorized as irregular galaxies. An Irr-I galaxy has some structure but does not align cleanly with the Hubble classification scheme. Irr-II galaxies do not possess any structure that resembles a Hubble classification, and may have been disrupted. Nearby examples of (dwarf) irregular galaxies include the Magellanic Clouds.Dwarf galaxyDespite the prominence of large elliptical and spiral galaxies, most galaxies in the universe appear to be dwarf galaxies. These tiny galaxies are about one hundredth the size of the Milky Way, containing only a few billion stars. Ultra-compact dwarf galaxies have recently been discovered that are only 100 parsecs across.Many dwarf galaxies may orbit a single larger galaxy; the Milky Way has at least a dozen such satellites, with an estimated 300-500 yet to be discovered. Dwarf galaxies may also be classified as elliptical, spiral, or irregular. Since small dwarf ellipticals bear little resemblance to large ellipticals, they are often called dwarf spheroidal galaxies instead
Other galaxies were first believed to be?
Nebulae or star clusters within the Milky Way Galaxy.
Does Every Galaxy Merge Eventually?
The answer to this is we do not know but it looks unlikely.The expansion of the universe appears to be speeding up. Local Galaxies might merge into larger galaxies but these galaxies will expand faster and faster away from each other.
Is the Earth located in a spiral galaxy called the Milky Way?
The Earth and its parent star, the Sun, are located within the Milky Way galaxy, so named by the inhabitants of Earth. The Milky Way galaxy is believed to be a larger-than-average barred spiral galaxy. There may be as many as 300 billion stars in our Milky Way, maybe many more. The nearest galaxy of such enormous class we have named the Andromeda galaxy. It is roughly 2.5 million light-years distant. But there are two tiny galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way; the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud. They are named for Ferdinand Magellan, the first white dude from the northern hemisphere to make a big noise about them. The Earth is located in the "Orion arm" of our galaxy, somewhere between half and two-thirds of the way out from its hellish center. In a galaxy thought to be 100,000 light years across, we find ourselves in the lucky "habitable zone" of one of its spiral arms.
Can 2 spiral galaxies create a elliptical galaxy?
yes they can and if that happens the galaxy will be destroyes :)
What is one way that an elliptical galaxies differs from the other types of galaxies?
The answer you seek is within you must find it yourself to understand
What is a different name for a galaxy?
There aren't really any other names for a galaxy that I can think of, but there are galaxy classifications, such as spiral galaxies (that can rotate either clockwise or counter-clockwise), elliptical galaxies, and irregular galaxies.
What do you expect find in other galaxies?
spiral,elliptical,irregular galaxies
Galaxy type arranged by size?
That's a bit tricky. Each type of galaxy has a wide range of sizes, so you can't say, for example, that any elliptical galaxy is larger than any spiral galaxy - because they aren't - though I believe that elliptical galaxies do have a general tendency to be larger than the other types.
What is the size of a elliptical galaxy?
An elliptical galaxy is a galaxy having an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless brightness profile. The galaxies range in shape from nearly spherical to highly flattened and have hundreds of millions to over one trillion stars.See link for more information
What are four general shapes of galaxies?
Galaxies have different shapes because of what happens throughout their lives. Any galaxy, at one point or another, will encounter another or many galaxies. When encounters occur, gravity takes over. The larger of the two galaxies will consume the smaller one, this is called galactic cannibalism. The act of absorbing another galaxy will change the size of the galaxy it's shape and even the speed of its rotation. Our own galaxy, The Milky Way, is as large it is (100000-150000 Light years across.) because of galactic cannibalism. The Milky Way is as we speak consuming two other small galaxy. And in about 2 billion years, our nearest nieghbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, will collide with our galaxy. Both the Milky Way and Adromeda galaxy are spiral galaxies, but after they collide the resulting new galaxy will an elliptical galaxy, which looks like a bright white sphere.
Galaxies are classified by their shape what are they called?
There are three types of galaxies, all of which are the same, with the exception of their shapes. There are the Elliptical galaxies (football-shaped) the Spiral galaxies (like the Milky way; vortex-shaped) and Irregular galaxies (all shapes other than spiral and football shaped).
How large is an elliptical galaxy?
There is a wide variation between all the different elliptical galaxies. They can be as small as a tenth of a kiloparsec to over 100 kiloparsecs. Our Galaxy, the Milky Way is approximately 30 kiloparsecs in diameter. A parsec is approximately 3.26 light years. The range is much broader than any other type of galaxy.
What is a round or dislike galaxy called?
I have been learning the same thing you are. I hope I can help you. The answer is elliptical. An elliptical galaxy is the correct answer. Trust me I have learned this about a week ago. I hope I helped! :) Other galaxies can be the barred and the spiral. The milkyway is our galaxy and is a spiral. They call it a spiral because it looks like a tornado like it's spinning.
What is the best way the galaxy is described as?
Universe is describing the galaxies. There are different galaxies and our galaxy is called Milky Way Galaxy. There are some other galaxies miles away from ours.
Galaxy types from largest to smallest type?
It doesn't really work that way. The types aren't exactly related to size, but rather to shapes. Dwarf galaxies of course are the smallest; but other than that, a spiral galaxy can come in different sizes; so can an irregular galaxy or an elliptical galaxy.
