12 Galaxy Names: Definition, Types, and Theory of Formation

Galaxy Name – Basically, the planet Earth that we live in is one of several planets in a solar system. Within the solar system, there are not only planets including the earth, but also satellites, meteors, comets, and even asteroids which all turn out to be just one of millions of stars that are members of a galaxy group. Then, that means we live in a galaxy? Yep, that’s right.

In this entire universe, there is not just one galaxy, you know… Instead, there are a great number of galaxies, it’s just that our knowledge is still limited and we only know about hundreds. Even so, human science is still cool until now because it can know the names of galaxies!

Then actually, what is the galaxy? What are the names of galaxies in this universe? What is the theory about the process of forming a galaxy, which of course is different from the process of forming the solar system?

So, so that Sinaumed’s understands this, let’s look at the following review!

What is a Galaxy?

What does Sinaumed’s think of when he hears the term “Galaxy?” Do you immediately think of a collection of stars shining white and forming a spiral? If so, Sinaumed’s’ thinking is not completely wrong.

The galaxy is a star system that has a very large size, composed of countless stars. Usually, these stars can also be single stars or star clusters, then there are also planets, clusters, nebulae, asteroids, comets, gas, to cosmic dust. Please note that this planet Earth is not a type of star, because it does not have the ability to emit its own light.

Well, Sinaumed’s must also know that the sun is the center of our solar system. The sun and other planets, including the earth, rotate to follow an orbit or orbit in a galaxy. The galaxy is called the Milky Way Galaxy or the Milky Way Galaxy. So it can be concluded that all humans who live on planet Earth are in the Milky Way Galaxy.

The galaxies that exist throughout the universe consist of billions of stars and celestial bodies, each of which has a variety of types, some in the form of red and white stars. The distance between one star and another is very far, so the universe will appear “empty”. However, there are also several tens of thousands of stars that seem to be “close together” around a center, so that when seen it looks like fog.

Galactic Characteristics

Many people cannot tell the difference between a galaxy and a cosmic fog or an ordinary nebula. Well, here are some of the characteristics of the galaxy.

  • A galaxy has its own light and its light is not a reflection (fluorescence). In addition, the light will later provide an absorption spectrum indicating that the illuminating object is a solid object surrounded by certain gases.
  • A galaxy has a special shape in which there is a luminous core in the center, so it is easily recognized.
  • A galaxy that will be seen outside the path of the Kali Serayu star, no matter how far it is from the sun.

Types of Galaxies

When viewed from their shape, the galaxies found throughout the universe can be classified into several types, viz.

1. Spiral Galaxy

This type of galaxy is the most commonly known to people, because most galaxies have that shape. In galaxies of this type, the main parts are called the bulge and halo. The bulge is the bulge and solid part of the center of the galaxy. Well, in our galaxy, namely the Milky Way, the center of the galaxy is in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, but our eyes cannot see it directly. While the halo is part of the spiral arms.

Generally, spiral galaxies consist of a vortex of stars and the interstellar medium in the form of a center line or the center of the galaxy which has very old stars. The stars in this galaxy also consist of young stars and old stars.

Due to its spiral shape, this type of galaxy will rotate at a very much greater speed, when compared to an elliptical type of galaxy. The speed of its rotation can even cause this galaxy to become flat and form a galactic plane. The size of the rotation speed depends on the mass of the galaxy, so not all spiral galaxies have the same rotation speed. Examples of spiral-type galaxies are M31 (Andromeda), M33 (Triangulum), and M51 (Whirlpool).

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2. Elliptical Galaxy

The shape of this type of galaxy varies, ranging from almost round like ellipsoidal to almost flat. An elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy that is thought to have an ellipsoid shape and looks soft, because of the bright light in the interstellar, so that almost the entire shape seems flat and bright. The various shapes in this type of galaxy can, of course, affect the number of stars in it.

This classification of galaxies was initiated by Edwin Hubble in the Hubble classification scheme. Examples of this type of galaxy are M32, M49 and M59.

3. Irregular Galaxy

This type of galaxy is so called because it is neither spiral nor elliptical, but has a variety of shapes. There are some that are called Dwarf Galaxy because of their smaller shape compared to galaxies in general, for example is M110. . Some of the others are called Ring Galaxy because they are shaped like a ring with the center as the center, for example, the Hong Object. There is also what is called the Lenticular Galaxy because its shape is a combination of spiral and elliptic types, for example NGC 5866 HG.

Galaxies that don’t have a special shape usually contain interstellar material consisting of gas and dust, but still have young stars and old stars. Another example of this type of galaxy is the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Large Magellanic Cloud which are located near our galaxy , you know , with a distance of about 180,000 light years from the Milky Way Galaxy.

Names of Galaxies in the Universe

1. The Milky Way Galaxy

This spiral galaxy is where we live with other humans on planet Earth. Yep, just like other galaxies, the Milky Way Galaxy is of course composed of billions of stars, cosmic fog, dust, and cosmic gases which are not evenly distributed. We can even see the collection of stars in this galaxy with the naked eye , especially at night. The center of the Milky Way galaxy is a very bright region, shrouded in dusty mist, and is usually visible only in radio (infrared) waves. Around this center there will be stars and stellar material stretching out to form a plate, about 80,000 light-years in diameter.

2. Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

Another galaxy that is often known by the general public is the Andromeda Galaxy, because it can be seen directly without binoculars. The Andromeda Galaxy is also the same as our galaxy, which is both spiral-shaped and the distance between the two is about 2.5 million light years. Another name for the Andromeda Galaxy is Messier 31 (M.31). Messier is the name of an astronomer from France who first recorded this galaxy while investigating the existence of galaxies in the universe.

3. The Large Magellanic and Small Magellanic Galaxies

Both of these galaxies are in the southern hemisphere, approximately 150,000 light years from the Milky Way galaxy. The adjacent shapes are often thought of as satellites of our galaxy. His second name, Magellan, was taken from its discoverer, Ferdinand Magellan, an astronomer from Portugal.

Since this galaxy often orbits around the Milky Way galaxy, many people think that the two galaxies are part of our galaxy system, even though they are not

4. Sombrero Galaxy

The shape of this galaxy is a spiral and looks like a sombrero hat, hence the name. The other name for the Sombrero Galaxy is Messier 104 (M104), which is located about 28 million light years from our galaxy. The core of this galaxy is very bright, namely at the center of its large bulge and surrounded by dust in the center.

The large bulge is thought to be the center of a supermassive black hole, while its dust lane is of great interest to professional astronomers.

5. The Rose Galaxy (Arp 273)

This galaxy is called that because it looks like a rose and is in the constellation Andromeda. Actually, The Rose galaxy consists of 2 galaxies, namely UGC 1810 and UGC 1813. UGC 1810 is large and has a disc that forms a rose-like shape. Then UGC 1810 which is under UGC 1810 is smaller and even shows different signs from the process of active star formation in general.

6. Sculptor’s Galaxy (NGC 253)

The NGC 253 galaxy is spiral-shaped and is known as the brightest and dimmest galaxy. Located in the southern Sculptor constellation at a distance of about 8 million light years. The Sculptor’s Galaxy has a lot of dust, and dust cells can often be seen rising from the disk of the galaxy.

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7. Black Eye Galaxy (M64)

So called because this galaxy has a spectacular dark band in absorbing dust that is in front of the galaxy’s bright core. The dark bands are thought to have formed as a result of collisions with other galaxies. Similar to the Sombrero Galaxy, this galaxy was also discovered by Charles Messier, an astronomer from France.

8. Blue Pinwheel Galaxy

As the name implies, this galaxy has a round shape like a wheel with a blue color. This galaxy is about 2 million light years away from our galaxy. Since this galaxy is a close neighbor of the Milky Way galaxy, its members can even be easily seen by humans on earth, either using binoculars or special binoculars.

9. Cartwheel Galaxy

It has a very unique shape, similar to the wheels on a lined cart, and measures about 150,000 light-years across. This Cartwheel galaxy has a very bright center, with a dusting grate and thin gas radiating toward the surrounding ring of stars.

If from Earth, it is about 500 million light years away, which is in the Sculptor constellation. Its unique shape is thought to have occurred due to a direct cosmic collision millions of years ago.

10. Sunflower Galaxy

The shape of the appearance is almost like a sunflower and has another name Messier 63 (M63). Similar to the Sombrero and Black Eye galaxies, this galaxy was also discovered by Charles Messier in 1781. Since its shape is a spiral with many arms, it will look like a sunflower pattern.

If from Earth, then the distance is about 27 million light years, which is in the constellation Canes Venatici. The bright light that often illuminates this galaxy was actually produced by a blue-white giant star that formed recently.

11. The Ursa Major Galaxy

Another name for this galaxy is the Big Dipper Galaxy. The existence of this galaxy turns out to be very beneficial for humans on earth, especially sailors who use it as a benchmark when sailing tonight. Not only that, the Ursa Major Galaxy is also popular among farmers, because at its appearance it is often seen as a marker of the start of the time of the name rice, especially in Javanese society who know it as Lintang Kartika .

At a glance, this galaxy appears to have a very bright star tip so of course it can be used as a benchmark when sailing. The number of stars in this galaxy is 6, it can even be seen in the sky at the North Pole.

12. Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

Its appearance appears to resemble a whirlpool, which occurs due to gravitational disturbances in the universe. If Sinaumed’s saw the stars in the sky using binoculars, it would be easy to find this galaxy. The Whirlpool Galaxy, aka M51, is often an easy target for astronomers in their attempts to study the structure and spiral arms of the galaxy.

Theory of the Formation of Galaxies

There are two main theories about how a galaxy formed, namely:

1. Chaotic Group Theory

Opinion in this theory put forward by a group of modern cosmological scholars, who believe that the formation of galaxies is related to the Big Bang Theory in the process of formation of the universe. If we look back at what the Big Bang theory is, which is the theory that the universe originated from a great explosion that was able to throw all objects in all directions. So, gradually, the objects that were thrown formed a galaxy.

2. Quiescent Group Theory

The opinion in this theory was put forward by a group of cosmological scholars who believed that the universe actually has a small number of inhomogeneous conditions, so that it will gradually develop to form galaxies.

But until now, no astronomer has a definite theory of how the process of forming galaxies. Although the two theories of opinion have their respective advantages, it is not concretely certain which theory is correct.

Well, that’s a review of the names of galaxies in this universe. In fact, there are still many galaxies scattered throughout the universe. If Sinaumed’s is interested in studying them, you can do this by reading an astronomy book, right?

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