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How big is a spiral galaxy in light-years?

How big is a spiral galaxy in light-years?

The Sun is just one of 200 billion stars in this typical barred spiral galaxy that is about 90 000 light years in diameter….The Shape of the Milky Way – The Evidence.

Properties of the Milky Way
Mass of the Galaxy 600 billion solar masses
Length of the central bar 25 000 light years

Can we see a galaxy that is 12 billion light-years away?

Bottom line: Astronomers would have expected a galaxy seen at a distance of 12 billion light-years to be “turbulent and unstable.” They were surprised to find one – labeled SPT0418-47 – with a disk and bulge similar to our Milky Way. They say this galaxy is the most distant Milky Way look-alike yet found.

How many stars are in a spiral galaxy?

Estimate of stars varies from 200 billion to 400 billion. Milky way is a barred spiral.

How big is our galaxy in light-years?

52,850 light years
Milky Way/Radius

Why is our galaxy a spiral?

These galaxies are differentially rotating–that is, the time to complete a full rotation increases with distance from the center. Differential rotation causes any disturbance in the disk to wind up into a spiral form.

What does a spiral galaxy look like?

Perhaps the most familiar kind of galaxy are spiral galaxies. They have a distinctive shape with spiral arms in a relatively flat disk and a central “bulge”. The bulge has a large concentration of stars. The arms and bulge are surrounded by a faint halo of stars.

What is the farthest we can see into space?

“From previous studies, the galaxy GN-z11 seems to be the farthest detectable galaxy from us, at 13.4 billion light-years, or 134 nonillion kilometers (that’s 134 followed by 30 zeros),” Kashikawa said in a statement.

What often happens when two spiral galaxies collide?

when two spiral galaxies collide they form a elliptical galaxy. a spiral galaxy alone is neat and orderly, when two orderly galaxies collide they form a messy tangled galaxy which is an elliptical galaxy. This can cause galaxies to become distorted or even rip apart.

What does a spiral look like?

The most common type of galaxy is called a “spiral galaxy.” Not surprisingly, spiral galaxies look like spirals, with long arms winding toward a bright bulge at the center….Spiral Galaxies.

Galaxy Type Description
Sa spiral galaxy, type a
Sb spiral galaxy, type b
Sc spiral galaxy, type c
SBa barred spiral galaxy, type a

How many galaxies are they?

One 2016 study estimated that the observable universe contains two trillion—or two million million—galaxies. Some of those distant systems are similar to our own Milky Way galaxy, while others are quite different.

How old is the Milky Way 2020?

approximately 13.6 billion years old
Astronomers believe that our own Milky Way galaxy is approximately 13.6 billion years old. The newest galaxy we know of formed only about 500 million years ago.

What is the average separation between spiral arms?

We show for a typical arm cross-cut, a separation of 400 pc between the mid-arm and the dust lane (at the inner edge of the arm, toward the Galactic center).

Is the distance from us to a galaxy 13.3 billion years?

However, it is not true that the distance from us to this galaxy is 13.3 billion light-years — either now or as measured long ago when the light left. To understand why, note that the universe expands even while the light travels toward us.

How big is the universe in light years?

Light from the distant galaxy in this example was emitted when the universe was only one-thirteenth of its present size. Therefore, when the light left the galaxy, its distance to us was one-thirteenth of 33 billion light-years, or about 2.5 billion light-years.

How old was the universe when light left the Galaxy?

It is true that the universe was only about 500 million years old when the light from this distant galaxy left, given that the light traveled for 13.3 billion years and that the universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old.

How big is 13.8 billion light years?

But 13.8 billion light years is far too small to be the right answer. In actuality, we can see for 46 billion light years in all directions, for a total diameter of 92 billion light years.