Once upon a time, Scientists believed that all the Stars in the night sky were part of one giant Group.
In 1917, a gentleman named Thomas Wright suggested that there might be other such groups of stars. A thought that was later proved by astronomers to be true.
And thus, Galaxies were born!
Are you one of those people who have forever been fascinated by the objects in the Night Sky? In this article you will find the answers to questions like ‘What is the largest Galaxy in the Universe?’, to ‘How many Galaxies are there in the Universe?’ It is important for children to learn about the list of galaxies in the universe.
It might be a good idea to begin, by taking a peek into that Knowledge Telescope, and answering the question ‘What is a Galaxy?’
Table of Contents
1. What is a Galaxy?
2. Types of Galaxies in the Universe
3. Names of Galaxies in the Universe
4. Our Galaxy- The Milky Way
5. 13 Interesting Galaxy Facts for Your Kids!
6. Conclusion
“The Milky Way contains hundreds of billions of stars like our sun. (And like our sun, most of these stars have at least one planet orbiting them.) Earth is located about halfway between the centre of the Milky Way and its outer edge. Light at the galaxy’s centre takes 25,000 light-years to travel from Earth. (A light-year is the distance light travels in one year.) So that means if you could see the core of the Milky Way, you’d be observing light that possibly left Earth before humans first settled in North America.”
– National Geographic Kids
What is a Galaxy?
A galaxy is a large gathering of stars, planets, gases, dust, and dark matter distributed in gravitationally bound structures. In fact, it is possible to classify the galaxies in terms of shapes and sizes of which there are the spiral galaxies, elliptical and irregular galaxies. The Galaxy that encompasses our world is the Milky Way galaxy, a spiral galaxy, composed of about a few hundred billion stars total, out of which is the sun.
Cool Fact: Galaxies are huge in themselves, and can contain trillions of Stars!
Types of Galaxies in the Universe
Scientists usually characterise Galaxies based on their aspects, like shapes and physical features. Here are the established Types of Galaxies in the Universe.
1. Spiral Galaxies
Spiral galaxies are one of the important galaxies among names of galaxies. As the name suggests, these galaxies are characterised by their distinct spiral arms. They are surrounded by halos, star clusters and dark matter. These are invisible things that do not emit or reflect light, but still have a gravitational pull on other matter.
Example: Our very own Milky Way!
2. Elliptical Galaxies
These have shapes that range from oval, to completely round. Unlike spiral galaxies, they usually contain little gas and dust. The stars here are older than the ones in spiral galaxies.
Example: Cygnus A is one among the names of galaxies.
3. Irregular Galaxies
As the name suggests, these galaxies have no shape in particular. They do not have any known components the erstwhile-discussed galaxies have. Like spirals and disks. According to NASA, what makes irregular galaxies unique, is the interactions they might have had in the past with other galaxies.
Example: The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
List of Galaxies in the Universe
When we name something, we bequeath it with a sense of Identity! Here are some names of Galaxies in the Universe that make those galaxies come alive in our eyes.
Do your children know about galaxy names?
1. Andromeda Galaxy
Constellation: Andromeda
This one’s a spiral galaxy, around 2.5 million Light Years from the Earth. The nearest major Galaxy to the Milky Way. It is also one of the important galaxies in the list of galaxies.
2. Backward Galaxy
Constellation: Centaurus
This galaxy appears to rotate backwards!
3. Black Eye Galaxy
Constellation: Corna Berenices
The stunning dark band of dust in front of the galaxy’s dark nucleus, lends it the nickname ‘Black Eye.’ Black Eye Galaxy is also one of the intriguing galaxies in the list of galaxies.
4. Bode’s Galaxy
Constellation: Ursa Major
This one’s named after its inventor, Johann Elert Bode, who discovered it in 1774. It is also one of the oldest known galaxies in the list of galaxies in the universe.
5. Cartwheel Galaxy
Constellation: Sculptor
Cartwheel Galaxy is one of the fun names among galaxy names. The appearance of this galaxy is akin to that of a spiked cartwheel!
6. Hoag’s Object
Constellation: Serpent’s Caput
Yet another galaxy, named after its inventor. In this case, Art Hoag. Hoag’s object is also one of the crucial galaxies in the list of galaxies in the universe.
7. Fireworks Galaxy
Constellation: Cygneus and Cypheus
This one derives its name from its bright and spotty appearance. It is one of the most beautiful galaxies among the names of galaxies.
8. Milky Way
Constellation: Sagittarius
How can we forget our very own galaxy? Its dreamlike appearance from the Earth is that of a Band of Light. These are the names of galaxies.
Our Galaxy – The Milky Way
The Galaxy we are residing in called the Milky Way is a large spiral galaxy approximately 100000 light years in diameter. It contains at least one hundred billion of each of these, with hundreds of billions of stars (including Sol), billions of grams of gas and dust and billions of galaxy-sized masses of dark matter. The term ‘galaxy’ originates from Greek where ‘gala’ means a milk like fluid; and from this angle the galaxy looks like a thin, silver, line across the face of the night heavens which, viewed from behind, is a milk spilled on a black cloth. Thus, there is the disk, the bulge, and the halo in the Milky Way Galaxy, and within it, there are many rich features with items like star clusters or nebulae, exoplanets, etc. The stars of which our solar system is a member belong to a rather minor spiral arm known as the Orion Arm in this super-galaxy.
13 Interesting Galaxy Facts for Your Kids!
If you’re hungry for even more information about Galaxies, you’re in for a stroke of luck!
In this section we have compiled some interesting galaxy facts, to provide you with an ‘Out-of-the World’ ride!
1. The Biggest of the Big. The largest galaxy in the Universe is IC 1101. It has a mass of about 100 trillion Stars!
2. The Milky Way will one day merge with the Andromeda Galaxy. This will take around 4 billion years, and the resultant galaxy will be an ellipsoid named ‘Milkomeda.’
3. Some galaxies are known as ‘Starburst Galaxies.’ The unusual amount of gas and dust that they have, leads to a high rate of star production.
4. There are more galaxies in the known Universe, than you can imagine. If you have ever wondered how many galaxies there are in the universe, this one’s for you. There might be as many as two trillion galaxies in the observable universe!
5. Most galaxies have black holes. These lie at the centre of the galaxies, and are supper massive in size.
6. The capitalised ‘Galaxy’ is used to refer to the Milky Way. This is done to distinguish it from the billions of other galaxies in the universe.
7. Galaxies can collide with each other. When such massive events take place, several interesting things can happen. Such as, the formation of new stars.
8. The Milky Way has two dwarf galaxies as its neighbours. The study of these galaxies, known as The Magellanic Clouds, is helping astronomers understand how galaxies are formed.
9. The word ‘Galaxy’ is derived from a Greek word. The word is ‘Galaxias’, and it means ‘Milky.’ This is a reference to our very own Milky Way.
10. Most galaxies in the Universe are really smaller, Dwarf Galaxies. These are roughly one hundredth the size of The Milky Way, and have only a few billion stars.
11. They are held together by Gravity. It is the force of Gravity that keeps a galaxy together. Without gravity, the stars of a galaxy would fly off into Space!
12. The command ‘Okay Google’, is a tribute to a book! It pays homage to a famous line in the bestselling novel ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.’
13. The Milky Way completes a rotation every 200 million years. One full revolution ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth. These are some of the interesting galaxy facts.
Conclusion
Galaxy is a wonderful and intriguing topic for children to learn. In this article, we have covered 13 fun and interesting galaxy facts for your children. Facts about galaxies provide an astonishing level of information that clearly states that there is life apart from earth.
How many facts about galaxies are you going to tell your children today?
At EuroKids we are all for encouraging children to learn as much as they can about Galaxies. From a tender age, children ask all sorts of questions about the Night Sky. Learning more about galaxies, will not only sharpen their knowledge but also encourage their sense of Wonder.
For informative and accurate articles on all things related to your new-born – toddler’s development, growth, health, and nutrition, follow EuroKids Blogs and do check out our nationally recognized preschools – EuroKids for the first step in your kid’s educational journey!
