GALAXIES

   

 GALAXIES are mixture of several hundred billion stars. Stars are not evenly scattered across the universe,instead they form large systems that's what i call as a galaxy. Galaxies exist in a variety of different shapes and sizes,from gigantic elliptical galaxies,through to spiral galaxies like our own "MILKY WAY", and small, irregular galaxies such as the large and small magnetic clouds.

what are clusters of galaxies?

                 well galaxies themselves are not distributed randomly or evenly through the cosmos.They collect in groups and clusters.For example,our milky way belongs to the local group of galaxies which comprises about 30 star systems. Other galaxies are located in the clusters which have several thousand members. One example is a cluster within the constellation VIRGO, which is made of more than 2000 galaxies.

HOW MANY GALAXIES CAN WE SEE?

                  Between september 2003 and jan 2004, The "HUBBLE" space telescope took the longest ever exposure of the sky in the history of astronomy - more than 270 hours.Based on the number of galaxies visible in the spectacular "HUBBLE ULTRA DEEP FIELD" scientists estimate that with the technology available today some 50 billion galaxies can be observed.

How Far Is To The Nearest Galaxy?

It is currently thought that the "CANIS" major dwarf galaxy in the constellation of the great dog is the nearest galaxy closest to us. It is only 25,000 light years away from the centre of the milky way. This small system appears to be disintegrating as the gravitational pull of the much larger milky way is tearing it apart and absorbing it's stars. 

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