Table of Contents
- 1 What makes a spiral galaxy flocculent?
- 2 What are the different types of spiral galaxy?
- 3 Why are the arms of a spiral galaxy curved?
- 4 How old are spiral galaxies?
- 5 What is the major difference between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy?
- 6 What are the 4 types of galaxy?
- 7 What kind of galaxy is a flocculent galaxy?
- 8 Are there any spiral galaxies that are grand design?
What makes a spiral galaxy flocculent?
This means that its spiral arms are not clearly distinguishable from each other, as in “grand design” spiral galaxies, but are instead patchy and discontinuous. This gives the galaxy a fluffy appearance, somewhat resembling fluffed cotton. A flocculent galaxy is one where its spiral arms aren’t easily distinguished.
What are the different types of spiral galaxy?
These are called “barred spiral galaxies.” The image below shows a barred spiral galaxy. Galaxies without a bar are simply called “spiral galaxies.”…Spiral Galaxies.
| Galaxy Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Sb | spiral galaxy, type b |
| Sc | spiral galaxy, type c |
| SBa | barred spiral galaxy, type a |
| SBb | barred spiral galaxy, type b |
What is a elliptical spiral galaxy?
An elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy with an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless image. They are one of the three main classes of galaxy described by Edwin Hubble in his Hubble sequence and 1936 work The Realm of the Nebulae, along with spiral and lenticular galaxies.
What’s the difference between spiral galaxies?
Spiral galaxies have a flat disk like shape and a bulging center with spiral arms consisting the disk. Elliptical galaxies are ellipsoids with no clearly visible internal structure. Spiral galaxies have a very dense nucleus and a region of stars bulging outwards from the disks and, therefore, called the central bulge.
Why are the arms of a spiral galaxy curved?
Since the angular speed of rotation of the galactic disk varies with distance from the centre of the galaxy (via a standard solar system type of gravitational model), a radial arm (like a spoke) would quickly become curved as the galaxy rotates.
How old are spiral galaxies?
In 2017, astronomers discovered an 11-billion-year-old ancient spiral galaxy called A1689B11. Its discovery will help scientists understand how galaxies transition from “highly chaotic, turbulent discs” to more organized and thinner discs, like that of the Milky Way. This article was updated on Nov.
How big is a spiral galaxy in light years?
The Sun is just one of 200 billion stars in this typical barred spiral galaxy that is about 90 000 light years in diameter….The Shape of the Milky Way – The Evidence.
| Properties of the Milky Way | |
|---|---|
| Mass of the Galaxy | 600 billion solar masses |
| Length of the central bar | 25 000 light years |
How many stars are in a spiral galaxy?
Estimate of stars varies from 200 billion to 400 billion. Milky way is a barred spiral.
What is the major difference between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy?
Spiral galaxies have both young and old stars, whereas elliptical galaxies have only old stars. Among the large galaxies in the universe outside of clusters, most are spiral. Elliptical galaxies are bluer and contain more dust than spiral galaxies.
What are the 4 types of galaxy?
Galaxies 101 The smallest of galaxies contain a “mere” few hundred million stars while the largest galaxies contain up to one hundred trillion stars! Scientists have been able to segment galaxies into 4 main types: spiral, elliptical, peculiar, and irregular.
What does a spiral galaxy look like?
Perhaps the most familiar kind of galaxy are spiral galaxies. They have a distinctive shape with spiral arms in a relatively flat disk and a central “bulge”. The bulge has a large concentration of stars. The arms and bulge are surrounded by a faint halo of stars.
How long do spiral arms last?
“In some galaxies, a large central bulge can prevent the wave from reaching a resonance; the wave then reflects off the bulge, giving rise to a giant standing spiral wave with a uniform rotation rate and a lifetime of perhaps 5 to 10 disk rotations (roughly one to two billion years).
What kind of galaxy is a flocculent galaxy?
A flocculent spiral galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy. Unlike the well-defined spiral architecture of a grand design spiral galaxy, flocculent (meaning “fluffy”) galaxies are patchy, with discontinuous spiral arms. Self-propagating star formation is the apparent explanation for the structure of flocculent spirals.
Are there any spiral galaxies that are grand design?
As of 2002, approximately 10 percent of all currently known spiral galaxies are classified as grand design type spirals, including M51, M74, M81, M83, and M101 . Density wave theory is the preferred explanation for the well-defined structure of grand design spirals.
What is grand design galaxy?
A grand design spiral galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy with prominent and well-defined spiral arms, as opposed to multi-arm and flocculent spirals which have subtler structural features.
How are the spiral arms of a galaxy created?
According to this theory, the spiral arms are created inside density waves that turn around the galaxy at different speeds from the stars in the galaxy’s disk. Stars and gas are clumped in these dense regions due to gravitational attraction towards the dense material, though their location in the spiral arm may not be permanent.