Welcome to the Galaxy Express
A galaxy is just a massive clump of stars, planets, gas(gases) (I hope you forgot to mention liquids), dust and dark matter which are all substances in space we cannot see, or know much about. Would you look at this great big ball of cotton candy in the sky, and all these are stars not sweet treats! And guess what? One of these galaxies is where we live, the Milky Way. Pretty cool, huh?
Did You Know: In the Milky Way alone, it would take over 3,000 years to count all-stars at a rate of one star per second. Thats a shit ton of wishing on shooting stars!
2. Galaxies: Your Spirals, Elliptical & Irregulars Just like the Wizard of Oz gives us Lions and Tigers and Bears.
This diversity also extends to galaxies versions of which do not all appear the same. Indeed, there are 3 main types of galaxies and all with some unique characteristics: –
1-Spiral Galaxies ~ are derived from their own name and bend like rotating flag systems. These appear as bright centers surrounded by long, winding spiral arms. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, and that we are in the silliest existentially cosmic whirlpool of stars there is.
Elliptical Galaxies: These galaxies are oval, like a football or an egg. BARNARD ELIPTICALS might not have those fancy spiral arms, but they are every bit as densely populated—with stars!
4. Irregular Galaxies: These galaxies can be a little more out of control in nature. Because they are irregular, hence their name of “irregular.” They look as if a handful of stars were thrown into the sky and never straightened out, in one big beautiful accident.
Cool Tip: Draw your own galaxy! A neat spiral, a smooth elliptical or maybe just the craziest irregular galaxy with its stars strewn all over.
- Our Galactic Home — The Milky Way
Star Talk: Episode 1 “Galaxies” — Part 2Now that we know what galaxies are, let’s dive into one of the most familiar ones (damn bias! Milky Way — because from Earth it looks like a milky, glowing band of light spanning the sky. However, all we are actually seeing in this case is the light of a billion stars lying extremely close.
Well, the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy so we have those neat arms to swirl around as mentioned. This is one of these spiral arms—our solar system (where Earth hangs out) is by all accounts situated in this specific arm, so we are a piece of the galactic vortex!
Did You Know: The Milky Way is so vast it would take 100,000 years to travel from one side of it to the other at Mickey Mouse light speed (which is inordinately good). Talk about a long road trip!
- Name: Neighboring Galaxies: AndromedaGalaxe and Others
Our band of stars is but one galaxy on a grand cosmic stage. Actually, there are billions and billions of galaxies in the Universe! The nearest spiral galaxy, like our own, is called the Andromeda Galaxy. Bigger and brighter than most, you can even see it from Earth with your naked eyes!
There are plenty of other galaxies near by, though. That group is called the Local Group, and it includes our galaxy — The Milky Way – Andromeda along with a number of much smaller ones. It seems to be the galactic address in our immense universe.
Fun Tip: See if you can locate the Andromeda Galaxy in next time night sky. A dark, clear night is required to see this distant galaxy (2 million light years away) in Andromeda.
- Galactic Collision: The Cosmic Dance Hall
Do you know that galaxies can collide? It’s true! If two entire galaxies get too close to each other and feel the gravitational pull from another, like this “Einstein ring,” they can merge into one bigger galaxy. That is, a kind of cosmic dance party where the stars and planets are mixed up!
But don’t even trip, this a slow dance As galaxies take millions of years to collide and combine, it is not something we need a concern ourselves with anytime soon.
About 4 billion years from now, the Milky Way and Andromeda are projected to crash together in what will become a new galaxy. OBSERVER:” ASTRONOMERS HAVE MASHED THE MILKY WAY AND ANDROMEDA GALAXIES TOGETHER INTO ONE — MEET ‘MILKOMEDA’
6. How Do We See Galaxies?
So you must be wondering — How did we learn all these incredible things about galaxies if they are so distant? Great question! Astronomers peer deep into space with high-powered telescopes. Those telescopes are able to effectively catch light from galaxies that can be millions or even billions of years away. Hence, many popular telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescopes are able to capture the most exciting images of galaxies.
Pro Tip: Consider telescope or even binocular stargazing. You might not get to image far off galaxies, but you can definitely spot some neat stars and planets right here in our home galaxy!
7. Galaxies are made up of stars, planets, gas and dust; however, there’s another special ingredient in galaxies that gives them a little more pizzazz – the part our high school teachers forgot to mention: dark matter. Dark matter doesn’t emit light like normal matter, so we can’t detect it. However, scientists can tell it’s there because — although not visible through a telescope — gravity from dark matter drastically affects the way galaxies move and interact.
It is an invisible glue that binds entire galaxies. Maybe galaxies wouldnt hang together with their pretty shapes without dark matter!
Dark matter is a really cool thing because it represents about 85% of the mass in the universe and we have no idea what it actually consists of. It is a secret best preserved by the Universe!
8. The meaning of expoloring galaxies — to boldly go where no one has gone before
Despite everything that we know about the galaxies, there remains a heck of a lot more to learn. Every time we make another, more powerful telescope, it turns out that there are even MORE galaxies and tell us how the universe functions. Who knows? Perhaps someday you will become an astronaut or astronomer, and find galaxies that no one knew existed for all these years.
Fun Fact: Big on the space you could visit a planetarium or science museum. They do a lot of neat programs and displays that involve galaxies or more space things. Besides, they might even have a gift shop with glow in the dark stars so you can light up your walls!
In the end, you know your way around a Galaxy!
Congratulations, you are a space traveler! You were on an extragalactic journey through galaxies. This is how you know — that galaxies are like super-sized space neighborhoods with stars and planets, maybe a few cosmic secrets thrown in too. One way or the other, they are all awesome — be it the Milky Way itself, Andromeda type galaxy and even a wild irregular!
So the next time you peer up into the heavens, just know that what you see is a mere snippet of our boundless galaxy—one.. and untold billions more out there waiting to be found! So just keep clicking, following your dreams and one day who knows? Well, maybe someday you will even be the one finding great galaxy!
