What is a galaxy?

A galaxy is, by definition, any large collection of stars that can be

recognized as a distinct physical entity. In terms of the number of stars,
a small 'dwarf irregular' galaxy like the Small Magellanic Cloud, has about
one billion stars in it, but there are even smaller systems that are
recognized as galaxies such as the Leo I and II dwarf galaxies with about
1 million stars in them, and the Draco System with a few hundred
thousand stars in it. The largest star cluster, a globular cluster called
Messier 15 has about 6 million stars, so we see that for small galaxies,
there is a blurring together of what we mean by a galaxy and a large star
cluster. In addition to their mass and numbers of stars, a galaxy is a
collection of stars and gas which move through the universe independently
of the Milky Way. Globular clusters are roundish swarms of stars that
orbit the Milky Way, while the Leo and Draco Systems seem to be
independent collections of stars.

Many galaxies also continue to form new generations of stars. The Milky
Way, and all spiral shaped galaxies like it (see above image of NGC 2997),
produce new stars at a rate of one or two stars per year. These stars are
formed in the vast interstellar clouds that account for about 1 to 10
percent of the mass of these galaxies. Globular star clusters, on the
other hand, are not currently forming stars because this activity
happened billions of years ago and then stopped once all of the gas and
dust clouds were used up.

T
h
e
r
e

a
r
e

l
o
t

o
f

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s

i
n
s
p
a
c
e
.

I
n

f
a
c
t
,

t
h
e
r
e

a
r
e

s
o

m
a
n
y
,

w
e
p
r
o
b
a
b
l
y

w
o
n
’
t

e
v
e
r

d
i
s
c
o
v
e
r

t
h
e
m

a
l
l
.
A

g
a
l
a
x
y

i
s

v
a
s
t

i
s
l
a
n
d

o
f

s
t
a
r
s
.

T
h
e
r
e

a
r
e

t
h
r
e
e

k
i
n
d
s

o
f

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s
.

O
n
e

i
s

s
p
i
r
a
l

g
a
l
a
x
y

(
s
u
c
h

a
s

t
h
e

M
i
l
k
y

W
a
y
)
.

T
h
i
s

k
i
n
d

o
f

g
a
l
a
x
y

i
s

s
h
a
p
e
d
l
i
k
e

g
i
a
n
t

s
p
i
n
n
i
n
g

w
h
e
e
l
,

a
n
d

h
a
s

c
u
r
v
e
d

a
r
m
s

c
o
m
i
n
g

o
u
t

o
f

t
h
e

c
e
n
t
e
r

o
f

i
t
.

T
h
e
r
e

a
r
e

t
h
r
e
e

t
y
p
e
s

o
f

s
p
i
r
a
l

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s
.

T
h
e
y

a
r
e

t
y
p
e

S
a
,

S
b
,

a
n
d

S
c
.

T
h
e
y

a
r
e

c
l
a
s
s
i
f
i
e
d

b
y

t
h
e

t
i
g
h
t
n
e
s
s

o
f
t
h
e
i
r

a
r
m
s
,

a
n
d

s
o

a
r
e

b
a
r
r
e
d

s
p
i
r
a
l
s
.
B
a
r
r
e
d

s
p
i
r
a
l
s

h
a
v
e

s
p
i
r
a
l

a
r
m
s

s
p
r
o
u
t
i
n
g

f
r
o
m

t
h
e

e
n
d

o
f

t
h
e
i
r

b
a
r
s
.

T
h
e

t
h
r
e
e

t
y
p
e
s

o
f

b
a
r
r
e
d

s
p
i
r
a
l
s

a
r
e

S
B
a
,

S
B
b
,

a
n
d

S
B
c
.

T
h
e

M
i
l
k
y

W
a
y

i
s

a
n

S
b

s
p
i
r
a
l

g
a
l
a
x
y
.

T
h
e
r
e

i
s

a
l
s
o

a
n

e
l
l
i
p
t
i
c
a
l

g
a
l
a
x
y
.

T
h
i
s

k
i
n
d

i
s

j
u
s
t

l
i
k
e
a

s
p
i
r
a
l

g
a
l
a
x
y
,

b
u
t

i
t

d
o
e
s

n
o
t

h
a
v
e

t
h
e

a
r
m
s

c
o
m
i
n
g

o
u
t

o
f

i
t
.

E
l
l
i
p
t
i
c
a
l

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s

a
r
e

t
h
e

l
a
r
g
e
s
t

t
y
p
e
s

o
f

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s
.

T
h
e
y

c
a
n

b
e

a
s

l
a
r
g
e

a
s

1
8

m
i
l
l
i
o
n
l
i
g
h
t
-
y
e
a
r
s

f
r
o
m

e
n
d

t
o

e
n
d
.
T
h
e

t
h
i
r
d

i
s

a
n

i
r
r
e
g
u
l
a
r

g
a
l
a
x
y
.

T
h
e
s
e

a
r
e

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s

t
h
a
t

h
a
v
e
u
n
u
s
u
a
l

s
h
a
p
e
s

t
h
a
t

c
a
n
n
o
t

b
e

p
u
t

i
n

t
h
e

o
t
h
e
r

g
r
o
u
p
s
.

T
h
e
r
e

a
r
e

t
w
o

o
t
h
e
r

t
y
p
e
s

o
f

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s
.

G
a
l
a
c
t
i
c

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s

a
r
e

i
n
s
i
d
e

t
h
e

M
i
l
k
y

W
a
y
,

a
n
d

c
a
n

b
e
s
e
e
n

w
i
t
h
o
u
t

t
e
l
e
s
c
o
p
e
.

E
x
t
r
a
-
g
a
l
a
c
t
i
c

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s

a
r
e

o
u
t
s
i
d
e

o
u
r

g
a
l
a
x
y
,

a
n
d

w
e

n
e
e
d

t
e
l
e
s
c
o
p
e

t
o

s
e
e

t
h
e
m
.

T
h
e
c
l
o
s
e
s
t

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s

t
o

t
h
e

M
i
l
k
y

W
a
y

a
r
e

t
h
e

M
a
g
e
l
l
a
n
i
c

C
l
o
u
d
s
.

T
h
e

l
a
r
g
e
s
t

g
a
l
a
x
y

i
s

3
C
-
2
3
6
.

I
t

i
s

1
8

m
i
l
l
i
o
n

l
i
g
h
t
-
y
e
a
r
s

f
r
o
m

e
n
d

t
o

e
n
d
,

a
n
d

i
s

a
n

e
l
l
i
p
t
i
c
a
l

g
a
l
a
x
y
.

T
h
e

s
m
a
l
l
e
s
t

g
a
l
a
x
y
i
s

G
R
-
8
,

w
h
i
c
h

i
s

1
,
0
0
0

l
i
g
h
t
-
y
e
a
r
s

a
c
r
o
s
s
.

W
e

h
a
v
e

d
i
s
c
o
v
e
r
e
d

o
v
e
r

1
0

b
i
l
l
i
o
n

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s
,

y
e
t

t
h
e
r
e

a
r
e

s
t
i
l
l

m
o
r
e

t
o

b
e

f
o
u
n
d
.

N
o

o
n
e

k
n
o
w
s

e
x
a
c
t
l
y

h
o
w

m
a
n
y

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s

t
h
e
r
e

a
r
e

i
n

t
h
e

e
n
t
i
r
e

u
n
i
v
e
r
s
e

b
e
c
a
u
s
e

i
t

i
s

s
o

b
i
g
.
T
h
e

M
i
l
k
y

W
a
y

G
a
l
a
x
y

i
s

m
a
d
e

u
p

o
f

h
u
n
d
r
e
d
s

o
f

b
i
l
l
i
o
n
s

o
f

s
t
a
r
s
.

T
h
e
r
e

a
r
e

a
b
o
u
t

1
0
0

b
i
l
l
i
o
n

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s

i
n

t
h
e

k
n
o
w
n

U
n
i
v
e
r
s
e
.

W
e

l
i
v
e

i
n

t
h
e

M
i
l
k
y

W
a
y

G
a
l
a
x
y
.
T
h
e

c
o
m
m
o
n

k
i
n
d
s

o
f

g
a
l
a
x
i
e
s

a
r
e

E
l
l
i
p
t
i
c
a
l
,

S
p
i
r
a
l
,

a
n
d

I
r
r
e
g
u
l
a
r
.

There are indeed different types of galaxies. The main types are spiral
galaxies (like our own MilkyWay), elliptical galaxies and irregular galaxies. An
irregular galaxy has an undefined shape and has lots of young stars, dust and
gas. A spiral galaxy is shaped like a disk, usually with a bulge in the center
and with arms that spiral outwards as the galaxy rotates. Spiral galaxies tend
to contain more middle-aged stars along with clouds of gas and dust. Elliptical
galaxies contain older stars and very little gas and dust. They can be different
shapes ranging from round, to flattened, elongated spheres.

1. What is a galaxy?

A galaxy is an enormous collection of a few million to trillions of stars, gas, and dust
held together by gravity. They can be several thousand to hundreds of thousands of
light-years across.

2. What is the name of our galaxy?

The name of our galaxy is the Milky Way. All of the stars that you see at night and
our Sun belong to the Milky Way. When you go outside in the country on a dark night
and look up, you will see a milky, misty-looking band stretching across the sky. When
you look at this band, you are looking into the densest parts of the Milky Way: the
"disk" and the "bulge."

3. Where is the Earth in the Milky Way galaxy?

Our solar system is in a spiral arm called the Orion Arm, and is about two-thirds of
the way from the center of our galaxy to the edge of the starlight. The Earth is the
third planet from the sun in our solar system of nine planets.

4. What is the closest galaxy like our own, and how far away is it?

The closest spiral galaxy is Andromeda, a galaxy much like our own Milky Way. It is
2.2 million light years away from us. Andromeda is approaching our galaxy at a rate
of 670,000 miles per hour. Five billion years from now it may even collide with our
Milky Way galaxy.

5. What are the parts of a galaxy?

A galaxy contains stars, gas, and dust. In a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way, the stars,
gas, and dust are organized into a "bulge," a "disk" containing "spiral arms," and a
"halo." Elliptical galaxies have a "bulge-shape" and a "halo," but do not have a "disk."

Bulge- The bulge is a round structure made primarily of old stars, gas, and dust. The
bulge of the Milky Way is roughly 10,000 light years across. The outer parts of the
bulge are difficult to distinguish from the halo.
Disk- The disk is a flattened region that surrounds the bulge in a spiral galaxy. The
disk is shaped like a pancake. The disk of the Milky Way is 100,000 light years across
and 2,000 light years thick. It contains mostly young stars, gas, and dust, which are
concentrated in spiral arms. Some old stars are also present.

Spiral Arms- The spiral arms are curved extensions beginning at the bulge of a spiral
galaxy, giving it a "pinwheel" appearance. Spiral arms contain a lot of gas and dust as
well as young blue stars. Spiral arms are found only in spiral galaxies.

Halo- The halo primarily contains individual old stars and clusters of old stars
("globular clusters"). It may be over 130,000 light years across. The halo also contains
"dark matter," which is material that we cannot see but whose gravitational force can
be measured.

Stars, gas, and dust- Stars come in a variety of types. Blue stars, which are very hot,
tend to have shorter lifetimes than red stars, which are cooler. Regions of galaxies
where stars are currently forming are therefore bluer than regions where there has
been no recent star formation. Spiral galaxies seem to have a lot of gas and dust, while
elliptical galaxies have very little gas or dust.

Questions related to how galaxies are classified in activities Spiral Shapes, Elliptical
Slide, and Imagine Irregulars.

6. How are galaxies classified? What do they look like?

Edwin Hubble classified galaxies into four major types: spiral, barred spiral, elliptical,
and irregular (see also question # 8 and question #9). Most galaxies are spirals, barred
spirals, or ellipticals.

Spiral galaxies are made up of a flattened disk containing spiral (pinwheel-shaped)

arms, a bulge at its center, and a halo.. Spiral galaxies have a variety of shapes and are
classified according to the size of the bulge and the tightness and appearance of the
arms. The spiral arms, which wrap around the bulge, contain numerous young blue
stars and lots of gas and dust. Stars in the bulge tend to be older and redder. Yellow
stars like our Sun are found throughout the disk of a spiral galaxy. These galaxies
rotate somewhat like a hurricane or a whirlpool.

Barred spiral galaxies are spirals that have a bar running across the center of the
galaxy.

Elliptical galaxies do not have a disk or arms. Instead, they are characterized by a
smooth, ball-shaped appearance. Ellipticals contain old stars, and possess little gas or
dust. They are classified by the shape of the ball, which can range from round to oval
(baseball-shaped to football-shaped). The smallest elliptical galaxies (called "dwarf
ellipticals") are probably the most common type of galaxy in the nearby universe. In
contrast to spirals, the stars in ellipticals do not revolve around the center in an
organized way. The stars move on randomly oriented orbits within the galaxy like a
swarm of bees.

Irregular galaxies are galaxies that are neither spiral or elliptical. They tend to be
smaller objects that are without definite shape and tend to have very hot newer stars
mixed in with lots of gas and dust. These galaxies often have active regions of star
formation. Sometimes the irregular shape of these galaxies results from interactions or
collisions between galaxies. Observations such as the Hubble Deep Fields show that
irregular galaxies were more common in the distant (early) universe.

7. How are galaxies classified today?

Hubble Tuning Fork Diagram

See reference: http://www.smv.org/hastings/tunfork.htm

Today we classify galaxies mainly into two major groups following Hubble's
examples. Elliptical galaxies range from round shapes (E0) to oval shapes (E7). Spiral
galaxies have a pinwheel shape and are classified according to their bulge, as well as
how tightly their arms are wrapped around the bulge. They range from Sa, which has
a large bulge and tight, smooth arms, to Sc, which has a small bulge and loose, lumpy
arms. Barred spiral galaxies classified as SB are pinwheel-shaped and have a distinct
"bar" of stars, dust and gas across their bulge. They range from an SBa, which has a
bar across its large bulge and tight, smooth arms, to an SBc, which has a bar across its
small bulge and loose, lumpy arms. Irregular galaxies have no definite shape but still
contain new stars, gas, and dust. The chart below summarizes the properties of the
main classes of galaxies.

Galaxy Chart
Spiral/Barred Spiral Elliptical Irregular
S, SB E Irr
Shape and Disks of stars, gas and dust containing No disk and no arms. No definite
Structural spiral arms that attach to central bulge. Stars distributed evenly structure.
Properties Sa and SBa have largest bulge. SB from near circular to
 galaxies have central bar. oval (football).
Stellar Content Have both young and old stars. Halos Contain mostly old stars. Contain both
consist of old stars only. young and old
stars.
Gas and Dust Disks contain gas and dust. Halos Little or no gas or dust. A lot of gas and
contain little gas or dust. dust.
Star Formation Stars form largely in spiral arms. Little or no formation A lot of star
seen. formation.
Stellar Motion Gas and stars rotate around the center Stars move on randomly Stars and gas
of the galaxy. oriented orbits like a have irregular
swarm of bees. orbits.

8. Galaxy names are identified by a group of letters and numbers. What do they
stand for?

Scientists classify galaxies in different catalogs. The most common catalog is NGC,
which stands for New General Catalog. Other catalogs include M (Messier), ESO
(European Southern Observatory), IR (Infrared Astronomical Satellite), Mrk
(Markarian), and UGC (Uppsala General Catalog).

The numbers following the letters help scientists to locate the galaxy in its relative
position in the sky, such as Mrk 917 (Sc) or NGC1433 (SB).

Sometimes a galaxy appears in more than one catalog and can have more than one
name.

9. What are colliding galaxies?

When two or more galaxies are close enough to each other, gravitational forces will
pull the galaxies toward each other. This gravitational attraction increases as the
galaxies travel toward each other. The galaxies may pass by each other or collide.
Two galaxies that are interacting or colliding may be referred to as a pair, or one
galaxy may be referred to as a companion of the other. These HST images show how
different colliding galaxies can look. The appearance of an interacting system of
galaxies depends on many factors, including the number of galaxies involved in the
interaction, their masses and types, how close they are, and how they approach each
other. The Antennae galaxies are an example of two spirals that are in the process of
colliding. We will not see the end result during our lifetimes because this process
takes hundreds of millions of years. Sometimes smaller galaxies plunge into larger
galaxies. This type of collision produces a ripple effect, like a rock thrown into a
pond. The Cartwheel galaxy is an example of this type of collision. The outer ring of
blue stars in this galaxy indicates a ripple of star formation resulting from the
collision. The Milky Way and Andromeda are examples of two spiral galaxies that
may eventually collide (about 5 billion years in the future).
Questions related to the activity Galaxy Hunt

10. Who is Edwin P. Hubble and what has he to do with galaxies?

Edwin P. Hubble revolutionized cosmology by proving that galaxies are indeed

"island universes" beyond our Milky Way galaxy. His greatest discovery was in 1929,
when he identified the relationship between a galaxy's distance and the speed with
which it is moving. The farther a galaxy is from Earth, the faster it is moving away
from us. This is known as Hubble's Law. He also constructed a method of classifying
the different shapes of galaxies with the Hubble Tuning Fork. (See #9)

Edwin Powell Hubble was born in Kentucky where he grew up observing the habits of
birds and animals. In 1910 he received his undergraduate degree from the University
of Chicago and studied law under a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. Later
he changed his mind and completed his Ph.D. in astronomy at Chicago's Yerkes
Observatory in 1917. He had several other interests, and for a while he thought of
becoming a professional boxer. He also enjoyed basketball, and even answered a call
in World War I to serve in the infantry.

He once said that he "chucked the law for astronomy," knowing that even if he was
second-rate or third-rate, it was astronomy that mattered.

11. What is the Hubble Space Telescope?

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space-based telescope that was launched in
1990 from the space shuttle. From its position 380 miles above the Earth's surface, the
HST has expanded our understanding of the universe, in particular star birth, star
death, galaxy evolution, and black holes.

The telescope's instruments are the astronomer's eyes to the universe. Its instruments
include the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph,
Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer, Faint Object Camera, andthe
Advanced Camera for Surveys.

When first launched, the HST's lens was out of shape on the edges by 1/50 of a human
hair. This very small defect made it difficult to focus faint objects being viewed by
Hubble. Because the HST is in low Earth orbit, it can be serviced by a shuttle. The
defect was corrected in the first servicing mission. The Hubble Space Telescope is
scheduled for one more servicing mission before its planned retrieval in 2010. You
may one day be able to visit the Hubble Space Telescope at the National Air and
Space Museum.

12. What are the Hubble Deep Fields?

The Hubble Deep Field project was inspired by some of the first deep images to return
from the telescope after the 1993 Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. These
images showed that the early universe contained galaxies in a bewildering variety of
shapes and sizes. Some had the familiar elliptical and spiral shapes seen among
normal galaxies, but there were many peculiar shapes as well. Such images of the
early universe are likely to be one of the enduring legacies of the Hubble Space
Telescope. Few astronomers had expected to see this activity presented in such
amazing detail.

Impressed by the results of earlier observations such as the Hubble Medium Deep
Survey, a special advisory committee convened by Robert Williams, then Director of
the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), recommended that he use a significant
fraction of his annual director's discretionary time to take the deepest optical picture
of the universe, by aiming Hubble for 150 consecutive orbits on a single piece of sky.
The research was done by pointing the telescope at one spot in the northern sky for 10
days in December of 1995 as a service to the entire astronomical community. Images
from the Hubble Deep Field project were made available to the astronomers around
the world shortly after completion of the observation.

Few thousand never before seen galaxies are visible in this "deepest-ever" view of the
universe, called the "Hubble Deep Field" (later named the HDF-North). Besides the
classical, the variety of other galaxy shapes and colors are important clues to
understanding the evolution of the universe. Some of the galaxies may have formed
less than one billion years after the Big Bang.

Hubble took a second deep look in the southern hemisphere in October of 1998, the
HDF-South, to see if a similar result would be obtained. Each of the Hubble Deep
Fields shows hundreds of galaxies in an area of the sky that is as small as the size of
President Roosevelt's eye on a dime held at arm's length.

Words from the Scientist:

Our Sun is one of hundreds of billions of stars that make up the Milky Way galaxy.
By studying other galaxies, astronomers learn more about the galaxy that we live in.