The word ‘galaxy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘Galaxias’.Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is typical in that it contains billions and billions of stars and sufficient gas, and dust to create billions of more stars. There is at least ten times as much dark matter as all of the stars and gas combined, with gravity holding all this together.The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy like most galaxies in the observable universe. A great deal of energy and, on rare occasions, brilliant flares are created in the spiral’s center. Galaxies in our solar system have many different phenomena and properties. Such as the two galaxies that collide to form colliding galaxies, interacting galaxies, giant ellipticals galaxies formed with new stars, gas, and dust, smaller galaxies formed with new stars, gas, and dust, and so on.The researchers infer that the Milky Way’s center is a supermassive black hole based on the enormous gravity necessary to explain the motion of stars and the energy ejected. Certain galaxies are elliptical, and a couple are oddly shaped like toothpicks or rings. This variety may be seen in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF). Hubble looked at a small piece of sky for 1 million seconds (11.6 days) and discovered around 10,000 galaxies of all proportions, forms, and colors.From the Earth, we can only see a small part of this location in the constellation Fornax. Read on to find out about the largest galaxies, new star formation, local group of many stars in the billion years after the big bang, optical image, and x rays of older stars and such bodies in the southern Milky Way.After reading about black holes, gas dust, and different types of galaxies, you should also check facts about the Whirlpool Galaxy and Andromeda Galaxy from Earth.Facts About The Milky Way GalaxyGalaxies’ shapes are impacted by their surroundings, and galaxies frequently clash. The Milky Way is colliding with the Andromeda galaxy, which is our closest neighbor. Despite the fact that it is the same age as the Milky Way, Hubble’s measurements show that the stars in Andromeda’s halo are significantly younger.Astronomers deduce from this and other indications that Andromeda has previously collided with at least one, if not several, other galaxies.To begin with, the Milky Way is a 120,000-light-year-diameter disc with a 12,000-light-year-diameter center bulge. The disc is not totally flat. Indeed, it has a distorted form, which scientists attribute to our galaxy’s two nearest neighbors, the large and small Magellanic Clouds.These two dwarf galaxies, which are members of our ‘Local Group’ of galaxies and may circle the Milky Way, are thought to have tugged on the dark matter in our galaxy like a cosmic tug-of-war.The halo is truly invisible in this case, but its presence has been shown by conducting simulations of how well the Milky Way would seem if it didn’t have this invisible mass, as well as how rapidly the stars in our galaxy’s disc orbit the center.The quicker they should be orbiting the galaxy, the heavier it is. If the galaxy were made up entirely of stuff that we could see, the rotation rate would be substantially lower than what we perceive. As a result, the remaining mass must be made up of an elusive, unseen material known as ‘dark matter,’ or substance that interacts gravitationally only with ‘regular matter.‘The Milky Way is a heavyweight among galaxies. The biggest galaxy we know of, IC 1101, has more than 100 trillion stars, and other huge galaxies can have a gazillion or more. About 10 billion stars make up dwarf galaxies like the aforementioned Large Magellanic Cloud. The Milky Way contains about 100–400 billion stars, and the greatest number of stars that anyone can see from any spot on the planet is roughly 2,500 when gazing up into the night sky. However, because the Milky Way is continuously losing stars to supernovae and forming new ones, this quantity is not set.Black holes and dark matter are two of the most baffling topics for scientists when it comes to space science. You may wonder how something that cannot be seen is analyzed? If you are not aware, let us share with you that both the black hole and dark matter are invisible to the normal eye for different reasons.The gravitational pull of a black hole is so strong that even light can not escape its clutches. So, it is not possible to see a black hole. But recently, scientists managed to picture a black hole, or rather more accurately, the event horizon which outlined the black hole, enabling telescopes to capture the pictures.When it comes to dark matter, the story is a bit different. Dark matter does not react with the electromagnetic force, implying that it is not able to either emit or reflect light. This makes the ark matter one of the toughest things to spot in space, even though it makes up for the bulk of outer space.Facts About The Andromeda GalaxyThe Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the nearest big galaxy to the Milky Way and one of only just a few galaxies visible from Earth without a telescope. The Andromeda galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy.The Andromeda Galaxy, along with the Milky Way, is predicted to meet in around 4.5 billion years, resulting in a huge elliptical galaxy. M32, M110, and maybe M33 are among the 14 dwarf galaxies that surround Andromeda.Astronomers study the Andromeda Galaxy to learn about the evolution of spiral galaxies since it is the closest barred spiral galaxy to all of us. With a speed of 62.1 mph (100 km/h), the Andromeda Galaxy approaches the Milky Way. A packed double nucleus exists in the Andromeda Galaxy. It features a huge star cluster at its center, as well as at least one supermassive black hole. Gravitational interactions with two neighboring galaxies, M32 and M110, are bending the spiral arms of the Andromeda Galaxy.There are at least two spiral arms in the Andromeda Galaxy, as well as a ring of material that may have originated from the minor galaxy M32. Scientists believed it interacted more intimately with Andromeda several years ago when M32 smashed into the bigger neighbor’s heart. In and around the Andromeda Galaxy, there are at least 450 globular clusters. They’re among the most densely populated globulars ever seen. With the naked eye, the Andromeda Galaxy is the furthest object visible. To see it, you’ll need a nice place away from strong lights.All About GalaxyWhen you try to look up at the bright stars, you may see other stars in the Milky Way. You may even see the hazy bars of the Milky Way spread across the sky if it’s truly dark, far away from the lights of cities and homes.There are so many galaxies. Some researchers believe the cosmos contains as many as a hundred galaxies. Some galaxies, like ours, are spiral-shaped. They have curving arms that give them a pinwheel appearance. Others are sleek, oval-shaped galaxies. Elliptical galaxies are what they’re called. There are galaxies that aren’t spirals or ovals, either.They resemble blobs and have uneven forms. The stars within each of these galaxies provide the light that we see. There are various types of galaxies in the observable universe. Some of the types of galaxies include spiral nebulae, barred spirals, irregular galaxies, and more. Irregular galaxies are galaxies that do not have a distinct regular shape, unlike a spiral or an elliptical galaxy.Information About Milky Way GalaxyFrom our vantage point inside the galaxy, counting the number of stars in the Milky Way is extremely difficult. According to our best estimates, the Milky Way contains around 100 billion stars. These stars are arranged in a huge disc with a diameter of 100,000 light-years.Our solar system is around 25,000 light-years from the galactic center, and we reside on the galaxy’s outskirts. The Sun revolves around the Milky Way’s core, just as the Earth revolves around the Sun. Our Sun and solar system require 250 million years to go all the way around the Milky Way’s core.We can only photograph the Milky Way from within the galaxy, so we don’t have a complete view of the Milky Way. So, why do we believe it’s a barred spiral galaxy? There are a few hints.The dazzling ribbon of stars that spans across the sky provides the first indication of the Milky Way’s form. In regions with a dark night sky, this band of stars may be viewed with the naked eye. This band is formed by looking inside the disc of stars that make up the Milky Way, and it shows us that our galaxy is a plane.Several kinds of telescopes took photos of the Milky Way disc by taking a sequence of shots in different directions, similar to how you would create a panoramic photo with your camera or phone. The fact that a band of stars has a high concentration of stars is evidence that the Milky Way is a spiral-shaped galaxy. We can observe our galaxy’s stars scattered over the sky rather than in a single band if we stay in an elliptical galaxy.Astronomers track young, brilliant stars and clouds of ionized hydrogen in the Milky Way’s disc, which provides another hint. These clouds, known as HII regions, are made up primarily of free protons and electrons and are ionized by young, hot stars. These are also significant markers of spiral arms in other spiral galaxies we view, so mapping them in our own galaxy can provide insight into the Milky Way’s spiral structure.Except when the area at the galaxy’s core gets in the way, they are luminous enough that we can see them through the disc of our galaxy. A multitude of other features provide additional evidence for the Milky Way’s spiral structure. According to astronomers, the quantity of dust in the Milky Way and the prevailing hues of the light we see are both similar to those found in other spiral galaxies. Even if we can’t get outdoors to view the whole thing, it all adds up to a picture of the Milky Way.In the universe, there really are countless other galaxies. Outside of our own Milky Way Galaxy, only three galaxies can be viewed without the need for a telescope, and they appear as fuzzy patches in the sky to the human eye. The large and small Magellanic clouds are the nearest galaxies visible without a telescope. The Milky Way’s satellite galaxies may be seen from the southern hemisphere. Even yet, they’re 160,000 light-years away from us. The Andromeda Galaxy, which can be viewed from the northern hemisphere, is a bigger galaxy.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for about the galaxy, then why not take a look at space train, or space rocks.
The word ‘galaxy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘Galaxias’.
