Galaxy Basics
This is the galaxy we live in.
What is the Milky Way?
A galaxy shaped like a flat, rotating disk.
What is a spiral galaxy?
This galaxy looks like a whirlpool in space.
What is the Whirlpool Galaxy?
Galaxies often exist in these large groupings.
What are clusters?
Galaxies formed after this major cosmic event.
What is the Big Bang?
This is the closest large galaxy to ours.
What is the Andromeda Galaxy?
This galaxy type is round and lacks much structure.
What is an elliptical galaxy?
This galaxy has a distinctive sombrero-like shape.
What is the Sombrero Galaxy?
This is the term for an extremely active galactic center.
What is a quasar?
This process causes galaxies to grow over time.
What is galactic merging?
Galaxies are primarily made of stars, gas, dust, and this mysterious substance.
What is dark matter?
This type of galaxy is often the result of galactic collisions.
What is a starburst galaxy?
A satellite galaxy of the Milky Way visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
What is the Large Magellanic Cloud?
This force is causing galaxies to move away from each other.
What is dark energy?
The Milky Way and Andromeda will collide in this many billion years.
What is about 4 billion years?
This type of galaxy has no distinct shape.
What is an irregular galaxy?
A spiral galaxy with a central bar of stars.
What is a barred spiral galaxy?
This galaxy group includes the Milky Way and Andromeda.
What is the Local Group?
The name of the largest known galaxy.
What is IC 1101?
This telescope has provided incredible images of galaxies.
What is the Hubble Space Telescope?
These central structures are often found in spiral galaxies.
What is a galactic bulge?
This rare type has a ring of stars around a central core.
What is a ring galaxy?
This giant galaxy dominates the Virgo Cluster.
What is M87?
These jets shoot from some galaxies' supermassive black holes.
What are relativistic jets?
This future telescope is expected to explore early galaxies.
What is the James Webb Space Telescope?