We Have Hope; Hope That Things Can Get Better. And They Will.

Weird and Wonderful Irregular Galaxies

Spiral and elliptical galaxies seem neatly put together, but what happened to irregular galaxies? Irregular galaxies have one-of-a-kind shapes and many look like blobs! Why do they look the way they do? Astronomers think the uniqueness of these galaxies results from their interactions with other galaxies — like when they pass close to one another or even collide!

Looking back at the early universe with the help of our Hubble Space Telescope’s “deep field” observations, astronomers can peek at galaxies millions and billions of light-years away. They noticed that these far-away galaxies appear unusually messy, showing more star formation and mergers than galaxies closer to the Milky Way.

We also see irregular galaxies closer to home, though. Some may form when two galaxies pass close together in a near-miss. When this happens, their gravity pulls stars out of place in both galaxies, messing up the neat structure they originally had as spiral or elliptical galaxies. Think of it like this: you happen to have a pile of papers sitting at the edge of a table and when someone passes close by the papers become ruffled and may scatter everywhere! Even though the two galaxies never touched, gravity's effects leave them looking smeared or distorted.

Some irregular galaxies result from the collision between two galaxies. And while some of these look like a blob of stars and dust, others form dazzling ring galaxies! Scientists think these may be a product of collisions between small and large galaxies. These collisions cause ripples that disturb both galaxies, throwing dust, gas, and stars outward. When this happens, it pushes out a ring of material, causing gas clouds to collide and spark the birth of new stars. After just a few million years, stars larger than our Sun explode as supernovae, leaving neutron stars and black holes throughout the ring!

Not all galaxy collisions create irregular galaxies — our Milky Way spiral galaxy has gone through many mergers but has stayed intact! And for some interacting galaxies, being an irregular galaxy may just be a phase in their transformation. We’re observing them at a snapshot in time where things are messy, but they may eventually become neat and structured spirals and ellipticals.

Irregular galaxies are similar to each other, but unique and beautiful because of their different interactions, whether they’re just passing another galaxy or taking part in a dramatic collision. Keep up with NASA Universe on Facebook and Twitter where we post regularly about galaxies.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

It’s important to remember Star Trek was more than just a science-fiction show.

Wow I never knew this

Never noticed this while watching clone wars.

Echoing the sentiments that these were not just token characters. They had story roles the mattered. The whole point of this cast was to promote equity and diversity.

You ever invite your coworker to watch you give birth just to spite a racist

Lovely art!

Would love to see Ezra come home. ❤️

Filoni, please, bring him back to his space mom ;-;

The pilot episode of an obscure British sci fi series called “Doctor Who” premiered 55 years ago today.

Ha!

“Curse you sudden but inevitable betrayal!” (x)

Gene was was of one of my heroes and Star Trek has had a major impact on my life, from my pursuit of science to my advocacy for social progress.

A hero in more ways than one

THE STORE IS LIVE NOW! NEW DESIGNS UP!

I’ve always wanted to have really nice/cool looking stargate merch but they do not have many options for us, if any. So I decided to use my design/artistic background to make my own & share with all of you. For these designs, I went for a minimalistic approach but still cool to look at. The name stack of SG1, The Abydos Cartouche (which I drew/colored), & finally the There’s no place like Home: Earth Gate Address.  These are available on various types of tees/tanks/sweaters etc in both male/female options, coffee mugs, phone cases & more! All of them come in sizes Small - 5XL & an array of color options & shipping is worldwide (some colors may not be worldwide). I will be doing new designs soon. Can’t wait to show you all what I have in the works.

Please REBLOG this!

Beautiful!

I remember seeing this in 2016 and being amazed. Finally tracked it down.

Enterprise Beam Me Up! by cylonka. Links.

Featuring ManMan1701's JJ Voyager, based on Ricky Wallace's design. Links.