Galaxies are large collections of stars, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter in space. They are the basic building blocks of the universe and come in various shapes, sizes and structures.
Galaxies also form groups and clusters that are linked together by gravity. These galactic clusters can range from a few to thousands of galaxies.
Our Universe contains a multitude of galaxies, some of which are billions of light-years from Earth. Exploring and understanding galaxies helps us to better understand the formation, evolution and structure of the Universe.
There are different types of galaxies
1. Spiral galaxies:
They have a flat disc structure with extended spiral arms extending around a central bulge.
A spiral galaxy is said to be edge-on when it is highly tilted with respect to our line of sight and is therefore seen "sideways".
Our Milky Way
A special case of a galaxy that appears edge-on is our Milky Way. Due to Earth's position close to the galactic plane, the galaxy appears as a bright band in side view. Since the earth is part of our Milky Way, this band also extends across the entire firmament.
2. Elliptical galaxies:
*
These galaxies are elliptical, spherical, or lenticular in shape and do not have a pronounced spiral structure. They mostly contain older stars.
3. Irregular galaxies:
Irregular galaxies do not have a uniform shape and structure. They can appear chaotic and erratic, and may have been created by galactic interactions or other disturbances.
.
