Accessentertainment IndexAstronomy Index

Galaxies spread out in all directions around the Universe.

Some galaxies belong to local clusters that are held together by the large gravitational forces that come from each memeber. One such cluster is the Virgo Cluster, which contains perhaps 12000 or more members.

Galaxies are not all the same type and size. It is not known why they form into different shapes, but it is most likely the mass and density that is the deciding factor.

A diagram of the general galaxy shapes is shown below.

Some of the Galaxies in the Universe are so large that the central core creates enough gravitational force to be classed as a black hole or in other words, there is so much mass that the gravitational force is enough to pull even photons of light into the central core.

Towards the outer edges of our vision with the largest telescopes, objects have been found called Quasars. These originate from the centre of galaxies about 10 billion years or older. What is actually being seen is galaxies in their state of infancy, when the stars, dust and gas have not settled down into specific orbits about the galaxy`s centre. Because they are so young, the galaxies create more energy due to the abundance of hydrogen that can be fused in nuclear reaction. It is this energy which we can see in the form of the Quasars.

Accessentertainment IndexAstronomy Index