![]() They are generally between 10 million and 1 billion times the mass of the sun, according to the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Many dwarf galaxies are bursting with star formation, Samuel said. Most dwarf galaxies orbit larger galaxies the size of the Milky Way. Related: Why are galaxies different shapes? "They're kind of irregularly shaped - they appear like spherical blobs," Samuel said. These are much less massive than spiral galaxies and lack their ordered structure. Some of Samuel's favorite galaxies, which she studies as part of her research, are dwarf galaxies. When including all the stars, gas, dust and dark matter, a spiral galaxy is around 1 trillion times the mass of the sun, Samuel said. Spiral galaxies form stars at a moderate rate and typically have a mass similar to the Milky Way. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, which means it's flat, large and has several arms that spiral around a central bulge, Samuel said. What are some of the different types of galaxies? "It's in a chilling phase right now," Samuel said. The supermassive black hole in the center of our Milky Way galaxy isn't particularly active at the moment. These jets can heat up surrounding material, which also prevents the material from collapsing down to form new stars. The gas and dust that would typically go into making stars instead falls into the supermassive black hole's maw.Įnormous jets of energy often shoot out from actively feeding supermassive black holes, Samuel added. When the black hole is feeding on surrounding gas and dust, the gravitational beast consumes so much material that it can choke off star formation, Samuel said. These appear as a bright band across the night sky that looks like spilled milk, so the ancient Romans called it the Via Lactea, which is Latin for Milky Way.Īlmost every known galaxy has a supermassive black hole in its center, which also plays a part in determining the galaxy's characteristics. Earth and our solar system are in the Milky Way, a large spiral galaxy containing between 100 billion and 400 billion stars. ![]()
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