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Elliptical galaxy (view source)
Revision as of 13:06, September 17, 2017
, 13:06, September 17, 2017Created the page
'''Elliptical galaxies''', often referred to as simply "ellipticals", form a type of [[galaxy]] that is shaped like an [[ellipse]], though some may be nearly spherical.<ref name=britannica>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/galaxy/Types-of-galaxies#ref559196 Galaxies] from britannica.com</ref> Elliptical galaxies come in a range of sizes, the smallest being around 10% the size of the [[Milky Way]] whereas the largest are over a thousand times larger, containing trillions of stars.<ref>[https://www.space.com/22395-elliptical-galaxies.html Elliptical galaxies] from space.com</ref> Although ellipticals contain many stars, they normally have very little in the way of [[gas]] or [[dust]]. Ellipticals often appear yellow/red. [[M87]] is an example of an elliptical galaxy.
==Clasification==
Elliptical galaxies lie on the "handle" side of the Hubble tuning fork diagram. Different ellipticals are classified by their [[ellipse|eccentricity]], or how "elliptical" they are, with a larger number meaning they are more "elliptical". This is calculated using the formula:<ref name=britannica/>
:<math>
n=\frac{10(a-b)}{a}
</math>
Where a and b are the semi major and semi minor axes of the galaxy as seen from [[Earth]]. n is rounded to the nearest [[integer]] and the galaxy labelled "En". For example, an E0 galaxy is perfectly spherical, while an E7 has a very high eccentricity. No elliptical galaxies have n greater than 7.<ref name=britannica/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Galaxies}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]
==Clasification==
Elliptical galaxies lie on the "handle" side of the Hubble tuning fork diagram. Different ellipticals are classified by their [[ellipse|eccentricity]], or how "elliptical" they are, with a larger number meaning they are more "elliptical". This is calculated using the formula:<ref name=britannica/>
:<math>
n=\frac{10(a-b)}{a}
</math>
Where a and b are the semi major and semi minor axes of the galaxy as seen from [[Earth]]. n is rounded to the nearest [[integer]] and the galaxy labelled "En". For example, an E0 galaxy is perfectly spherical, while an E7 has a very high eccentricity. No elliptical galaxies have n greater than 7.<ref name=britannica/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Galaxies}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]