Did you know that there are more than 200 billion stars in our milky way galaxy? Not just that, it has enough gas to create a few million stars. Every galaxy in our universe is special as it is the home to billions of stars and a few black holes as well. Most galaxies are home to several million earth like planets which are in the habitable zone of their home star. This means that there are over a billion possibilities that we are not the only living beings in the universe.
They come In All Shapes and Sizes
Yes you read it right, all galaxies are not elliptical and boring. They come in varied shapes and sizes. In our observable universe, there are three main types of galaxies which include elliptical, spiral, and irregular. Elliptical galaxies are shaped like a spheroid or an elliptical sphere. On the other hand, spiral galaxies are much spectacular to watch as they appear like a bulged disc with two or more discs which appear like arms. Irregular galaxies have a very haphazard shape and comprise of a lot of star dust and gas.
Our galaxy, the milky way, is a spiral galaxy and we are located at the edge of it. Older stars are clustered at the center of the galaxy and younger ones are spread out. We do not know how many discs our galaxy has because we are inside it and we can’t look at it from a third person view. Neither are we technologically advanced to construct a space probe which can leave our galaxy and take pictures of it.
What’s at Its Center?
The center of our galaxy, the milky way, will appear to remain very bright as there are a cluster of stars present there. According to observations, there is a super massive black hole at the center of our galaxy. This black hole is over four million times the mass of our sun. Scientists theorize that there are super massive black holes at the center of most galaxies. Wheres some speculate that there could be star clusters which are far denser than the ones in nearby irregular galaxies.
How Many Are There In Our Universe?
In the observable universe, there are around 100 billion galaxies. Yes, that is a mammoth number folks. This means that there are several galaxies which are home to harbor life, thereby making it over 1000 billion which are very similar to our earth.
The Milky Way Andromeda Collision
The Andromeda galaxy is a large galaxy which is home to 1 trillion stars, whereas our milky way has only 300 million stars. This is the size difference between these two galaxies.
In about 4 billion years from now, the Andromeda galaxy will collide with our milky way and merge together to form a new galaxy known as Milkdromedia. 3.4 billion years from now, we will be able to view the Andromeda galaxy up close and personal. And trust me, that will be one of the most spectacular sights you could ask for. The collision of these two galaxies will be an absolute spectacle.
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