Galaxy shapes
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Hannah_Ozog
Just wondering what determines the shape of a galaxy - e.g. does the strength of the force at the galactic centre (supermassive black hole or not) cause variations in the tightness of the galaxy's 'arms' or how many there are - or is it all a case of where everything pops up and starts spinning? Also, supposing spheres are a 'balanced shape' (planets are spherical etc etc), why are galaxies typically disc shaped and whate decides the orientation?
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Budgieye
moderator
Big questions. All these are being worked on by data collection and simulation. How much can I answer?
The black hole in the center of a galaxy is a small part of a galaxy, maybe 1/1000th. The stars orbit around all the mass of the other stars or around dark matter.
Blog; AAS 218: Black Hole Growth and Host Galaxy Morphology June 8, 2011 by Kevin http://blog.galaxyzoo.org/2011/06/08/aas-218-black-hole-growth-and-host-galaxy-morphology/ pdf and quicktime video
The spiral arms are wave patterns.
1.8 Spiral arms http://talk.galaxyzoo.org/#/boards/BGZ0000001/discussions/DGZ0000wrb?page=1&comment_id=53d8b7ac0d43f77bd6000ff4
from Ringed and Pseudoringed Galaxies by EricFDiaz http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php?topic=10635.0
Blog: Oh, Sweet Spiral Of Mine by Brooke Simmons 2013 http://blog.galaxyzoo.org/2013/04/26/oh-sweet-spiral-of-mine/ "what is the significance of the number of spiral arms? "
Blog: Galaxies 101:The Anatomy of Galaxies June 9, 2010 by Robert http://blog.galaxyzoo.org/2010/06/09/the-anatomy-of-galaxies/ Description of the types of galaxies
Blog: Galaxies 101: Types of Galaxies May 12, 2010 by Robert? http://blog.galaxyzoo.org/2010/05/12/types-of-galaxies/ examples of spirals, barred spirals ellipticals "Hubble called the elliptical galaxies ‘early’ galaxies and the spirals ‘late’ galaxies."
1.3 Galaxy Classification and formation and evolution http://talk.galaxyzoo.org/#/boards/BGZ0000001/discussions/DGZ0000wrb?page=1&comment_id=53d8b71c0d43f776b0001074
I hope this gets you started.
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Hannah_Ozog
Do love a bit of light reading - thanks for the help 😃
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Budgieye
moderator
You're welcome. Enjoy! A bit lighter:
Neil deGrasse Tyson: Why Solar Systems & Galaxies Form Disks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1ci-lQesks
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