galaxy collision
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Globular Clusters: The Untold Story
Meet Messier 13: my sentimental favorite globular cluster. For more than a decade now, one of my favorite things has been to set up my telescopes at astronomy outreach events and show people the night sky. I have two telescopes…
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Active Galaxies Demystified
Active galaxies are, without a doubt, absolutely spectacular. Though rare, they tell a critical part of the story of galaxies — and of the universe as a whole. And we’ve spent the last few posts exploring them in depth. But…
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Why Galactic Nuclei Erupt
Astronomers know that when galaxies’ nuclei become active — releasing tremendous floods of energy — supermassive black holes are the ultimate culprit. We also know that supermassive black holes lurk at the hearts of most large galaxies. But most galaxies…
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What are Seyfert Galaxies?
Meet NGC 1566, an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Fornax. To the human eye, this galaxy looks almost like any other spiral: It has a central nucleus and spiral arms, and it’s full of gas and dust. As an…
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Galaxies Demystified
From the smallest of irregular and dwarf galaxies, to the most spectacular of spirals, to the most massive of ellipticals, there’s no denying that galaxies are incredible objects. On this blog, we’ve covered a great deal of information about galaxies.…
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How Galaxies Evolve
Ever since astronomers realized that the mysterious, fuzzy objects known as “spiral nebulae” were, in fact, separate galaxies beyond our own, we’ve sought to understand the stories of galaxies. We’ve since discovered that most galaxies are found in galaxy clusters.…
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When Galaxies Collide
Meet the Whirlpool Galaxy, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. This was actually the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral. Specifically, the Whirlpool Galaxy is what we call a grand-design spiral: a galaxy with a very…
