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Some galaxies are named for the constellations they are in, like Andromeda. Some are named for a shape that they might, perhaps, resemble; the "Sombrero Galaxy", for example. More are not named as such, but are referred to by their Messier Catalog number.
Charles Messier was a French comet hunter; comets were all he really cared about. He built a very nice observatory to find comets, but kept finding these cloudy-looking, vaguely comet-like things that weren't comets. So he devised a catalog of these "Messier objects", things that looked a little like comets but were not.
Many of his "Messier objects" turned out to be galaxies, and we refer to them by number; for example the Andromeda Galaxy is M87.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoA planet or a star gets its name from the person that discovered it. Normally these days the name is submitted to a committee that approves the name or not but in older days whoever discovered it got to name it. Today there are thousand of stars with no names just an numeric value . You can pay to have the star named however you want.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoDepending on how they look. If they are a spiral galaxy or what time of galaxy are they?
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What is one way that an elliptical galaxy differs from the other types of galaxies?
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.
What are galaxies found in clusters called?
They are simply called "galaxies which are part of a cluster".
What are similarities between elliptical and spiral galaxies?
While spiral galaxies are bright, elliptical galaxies are dim. Spiral galaxies are hotbeds of star formation, but elliptical galaxies aren't nearly as prolific because they contain less gas and dust, which means fewer new (and brighter) stars are born
What scientist discovered the three main types of galaxies?
spiral galaxies elliptical galaxies and irregular galaxies
Which of these galaxies would you most likely find at the center of a large cluster of galaxies?
At the center of a large cluster, you'll usually find large and massive galaxies.
How many galaxies are there and what are they named?
To the best knowledge, there are an infinite number of galaxies, which means they don't have names!
What are the three names of your galaxies?
Elliptical, Irregular, and Spiral
Do galaxies have names?
Yes. See related question.
What are the names of some galaxies in the Virgo cluster?
M87 is one of the most prominent galaxies followed by the elliptical galaxy Messier 49.
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 are the names of some irregular galaxies?
Canis Major Dwarf and Small Magellanic Cloud are irregular satellite galaxies of the Milky Way.The two irregular galaxies that orbit the Milky Way are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
What are the names of galaxies beginning with the letter B?
The Black Eye galaxy. Bode's galaxy.
What does ARP stand for in Galaxy names?
It means it's the numbering from the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, by Halton Arp.
What are all of the galaxies names are?
There are approximately 100,000,000,000 galaxies in the visible Universe. To name them all, at one a second would take about 3,169 years. So I won't bother. See related question for some of them.
The names of the two well-known nebulae?
Andromeda, Milky Way These are galaxies ^ Orion Nebula Eagle Nebula
Name of galaxy in universe known to man?
We know the names of lots of galaxies--that is, the names we give them. I'm sure you're most familiar with the Milky Way Galaxy. You are here. Other well-known galaxies include the Andromeda Galaxy, which is our next-galaxy neighbor, and the Sombrero Galaxy, which resembles a sombrero.
What are the names of some spiral galaxies?
Milky Way Galaxy (ours)Andromeda galaxy.Pinwheel GalaxySunflower GalaxyWhirlpool GalaxyTriangulum Galaxy
