What is special about a spiral galaxy?
Most spiral galaxies contain a central bulge surrounded by a flat, rotating disk of stars. The bulge in the center is made up of older, dimmer stars, and is thought to contain a supermassive black hole. Approximately two-thirds of spiral galaxies also contain a bar structure through their center, as does the Milky Way.
What is the largest spiral galaxy?
NGC 6872
Astronomers have crowned the universe’s largest known spiral galaxy, a spectacular behemoth five times bigger than our own Milky Way. The title-holder is now NGC 6872, a barred spiral found 212 million light-years away in the southern constellation Pavo, researchers announced today (Jan. 10).
What is the oldest spiral galaxy?
The galaxy dates back to 12.4 billion years ago and it bears a family resemblance to our own Milky Way. Amanda Kooser. May 24, 2021 11:55 a.m. PT. Galaxy BRI 1335-0417 is the oldest known spiral galaxy ever discovered.
How many stars are in a spiral galaxy?
Estimate of stars varies from 200 billion to 400 billion. Milky way is a barred spiral.
How many spiral galaxies are there?
There are currently 3 classifications of classical spiral galaxies and another 3 for barred spiral galaxies: 1. Spiral galaxy type A – abbreviation Sa – they have a big central bulge and smooth, broad spiral arms. Around 2% of the mass of Sa spiral galaxies is present in the form of gas and dust.
How old is a spiral galaxy?
Astronomers have discovered the universe’s most ancient spiral galaxy yet, a cosmic structure that dates back roughly 10.7 billion years, a new study reveals.
How old is the spiral galaxy?
eleven billion years old
At eleven billion years old, it is more than two billion years older than any previous discovery. Researchers think the galaxy’s shape is caused by the gravitational influence of a companion dwarf galaxy.
What is the smallest spiral galaxy?
An ultra-faint collection of 1,000 stars orbiting the Milky Way is the most lightweight galaxy ever discovered, scientists say. The dwarf galaxy known as Segue 2 is bound together by a tiny clump of dark matter.
How big is a spiral galaxy?
16,300 to 163,000 light years
Introduction. Most of the bright galaxies near to the Milky Way are spiral galaxies. Spirals have the smallest range of masses and sizes. They can be between 10,000,000,000 and 400,000,000,000 times the mass of our Sun, and their diameters range from 16,300 to 163,000 light years.
What color is a spiral galaxy?
Both the arms and the disk of a spiral system are blue in colour, whereas its central areas are red like an elliptical galaxy.
What kind of galaxy is Malin 1?
The galaxy pictured at the top of this post is called Malin 1. It’s faint; so dim it was only discovered in 1986, and was the first discovered in a class of galaxies called low-surface brightness spiral galaxies. Most spirals are pretty bright and easy to see, but LSBs are much fainter.
What is the spiral structure of Malin 1?
Observations by Galaz et al. in April 2014 revealed a detailed view of the spiral structure of Malin 1 in optical bands. The galaxy exhibits giant and very faint spiral arms, with some segments up to 33,000 light-years (10,000 pc) in diameter.
What makes Malin 1 different from the Milky Way?
Despite its diffuse light, Malin 1 emits eight times more light than the entire Milky Way, which is itself a giant galaxy. Furthermore, Malin 1 abounds with gas, containing 50 billion solar masses of atomic hydrogen gas–more than ten times the amount in the Milky Way.
What is the brightness of Malin 1?
Malin 1 was the first giantlow surface brightness galaxy found. Despite its diffuse light, Malin 1 emits eight times more light than the entire Milky Way, which is itself a giant galaxy. Furthermore, Malin 1 abounds with gas, containing 50 billion solar masses of atomic hydrogen gas–more than ten times the amount in the Milky Way.