Can elliptical galaxies have life?
Based on numbers of stars, supernova rates, and metallicity, a prior study concluded that large elliptical galaxies contain up to 10 000 times more habitable planets than the Milky Way and are thus the ‘cradles of life’.
Which galaxy is older spiral or elliptical?
Spiral galaxies are thought to evolve into elliptical galaxies as the spirals get older. But it’s unclear how common elliptical galaxies are as they’re made up of older, dimmer stars, and are more challenging to spot.
How old are irregular galaxies?
Irregular galaxies are known for the strange shape they take, as they have no central bulge or spiral. Irregular galaxies are on average, some of the youngest in our universe. They’re typically between 4 and 8 billion years old, whereas other galaxies are as old as 12 billion years old.
Are elliptical galaxies newly formed?
Summary: Using an “intuitive” approach, a new study confirms a recent hypothesis on the formation of galaxies, according to which the larger elliptical galaxies formed in very ancient times through a process of local (in situ) star formation.
What happens to elliptical galaxies?
When two spirals collide, they lose their familiar shape, morphing into the less-structured elliptical galaxies. A supermassive black hole is thought to lie at the center of these ancient galaxies. These gluttonous giants consume gas and dust, and may play a role in the slower growth of elliptical galaxies.
Are dwarf galaxies elliptical?
Dwarf Elliptical galaxies appear to have many of the same global properties observed in normal elliptical galaxies, just on a smaller scale. They are elliptical in shape, contain very little or no gas, and have no evidence of recent star formation.
What is elliptical galaxy?
Elliptical galaxies lack the swirling arms of their more well-known siblings, spiral galaxies. Instead, they bear the rounded shape of an ellipse, a stretched-out circle.
What are 3 types of galaxies?
Types of Galaxies Astronomers classify galaxies into three major categories: elliptical, spiral and irregular. These galaxies span a wide range of sizes, from dwarf galaxies containing as few as 100 million stars to giant galaxies with more than a trillion stars.
Are irregular galaxies old?
Astronomers have measured the age of irregular galaxies and their ages are older than spirals, but younger than ellipticals. They are like teenage galaxies.
Do irregular galaxies have gravity?
An irregular galaxy is a galaxy that does not have a distinct regular shape, unlike a spiral or an elliptical galaxy. Some irregular galaxies were once spiral or elliptical galaxies but were deformed by an uneven external gravitational force. Irregular galaxies may contain abundant amounts of gas and dust.
Do elliptical galaxies have a bulge?
As their name suggests, elliptical galaxies are round or oval, with stars distributed fairly uniformly throughout. They have a bulge and halo, like spiral galaxies, but don’t have the flat disk of stars. The stars in ellipticals tend to be older. Irregular galaxies have no identifiable shape or structure to them.
Why are elliptical galaxies red?
Elliptical galaxies tend to be very old, and formed their stars a long time ago. With the gas and dust long since gone, there is no material left to make new stars. In the absence of any young, blue stars, ellipticals appear yellow-red in colour.
Do elliptical galaxies have mainly old stars?
Elliptical galaxies contain very little cool interstellar matter, and there is no evidence of ongoing star formation or young stars. Elliptical galaxies contain mostly old, red stars . However, elliptical galaxies do contain large amounts of very hot interstellar gas.
Does elliptical galaxy contains young or old stars?
Elliptical galaxies, such as M87 (left), have very little gas and dust. Because gas and dust are found in the clouds that are the birthplaces of stars, we should expect to see very few young stars in elliptical galaxies. In fact, elliptical galaxies contain primarily old, red stars (also known as Population II stars).
How old are the Stars in elliptical galaxy?
Typical of large ellipticals , it comprises mainly old stars, many over 10 billion years old, with some new star formation occurring in a small nucleus. Only a limited number of globular clusters have been identified so far, due to the dust issues, but the galaxy is expected to host a large number; perhaps more than 1,000.
What are facts about elliptical galaxies?
Elliptical galaxies are made up of mostly old stars, and do not have much gas and dust. There is very little new star formation in these galaxies. Elliptical galaxies also come in many sizes. The largest galaxies we see are ellipticals, but, elliptical galaxies can also be small. About 60% of all galaxies are ellipticals.