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Although several dozen minor galaxies lie closer to our Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy is the closest large spiral galaxy to ours. Excluding the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which can’t be seen from northerly latitudes, the Andromeda galaxy – also known as M31 – is the brightest galaxy you can see.
What is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way?
The Andromeda galaxy is the closest big galaxy to our Milky Way. At 2.5 million light-years, it’s the most distant thing you can see with the eye alone. Now is the time to look for it.
How many galaxies are close to the Milky Way?
Scientists have known for some time that the Milky Way Galaxy is not alone in the Universe. In addition to our galaxy being part of the Local Group – a collection of 54 galaxies and dwarf galaxies – we are also part of the larger formation known as the Virgo Supercluster.
What is the heaviest planet in the universe?
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. In terms of mass, Jupiter dwarfs the other planets.
What is the biggest galaxy or universe?
The Milky Way is big, but some galaxies, like our Andromeda Galaxy neighbor, are much larger. The universe is all of the galaxies – billions of them!
What is the smallest galaxy in the universe?
The smallest independent structures known today are Segue 1 and Segue 3. Only approximately 1000 stars are present in the entirety of dwarf galaxies Segue 1 and Segue 3,Apr 6, 2020
How fast can a human travel in space?
Surprisingly, the fastest manned mission record still belongs to Apollo 10, which took place back in May 1969. During its return from the Moon, the crew’s vehicle reached a speed of 24,791 mph (39,897 km/h).
How small can a galaxy get?
A dwarf galaxy is a small galaxy composed of about 1000 up to several billion stars, as compared to the Milky Way’s 200–400 billion stars.
What is a ghost galaxy?
The Ant 2 “ghost” galaxy is a large, dim dwarf galaxy that scientists have discovered near the edge of the Milky Way. While low in mass, Ant 2 is about the same size as the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
How do you identify a galaxy?
The deeper astronomers look into the universe, the more they see that the expansion of the universe has stretched light, shifting it toward the red end of the spectrum. By measuring the amount of redshift, astronomers can determine how far away a given galaxy is.
How old is the Milky Way 2020?
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 smallest thing in the universe?
Protons and neutrons can be further broken down: they’re both made up of things called “quarks.” As far as we can tell, quarks can’t be broken down into smaller components, making them the smallest things we know of.
How can we see the Milky Way if we are in the Milky Way?
The stars of the Milky Way merge together into a single band of light. But through a telescope, we see the Milky Way for what it truly is: a spiral arm of our galaxy. We can’t get outside the Milky Way, so we have to rely on artist’s concepts, like this one, to show us how it might look.
What is the most dangerous thing in the universe?
Why black holes are the scariest things in the universe. For one, falling into a black hole is easily the worst way to die. Halloween is a time to be haunted by ghosts, goblins and ghouls, but nothing in the universe is scarier than a black hole.
What is the fastest thing in the universe?
Laser beams travel at the speed of light, more than 670 million miles per hour, making them the fastest thing in the universe.
Which arm of the Milky Way do we see?
In recent decades, research advances have revealed that we live in our very own spiral arm of the galaxy, albeit a relatively minor one. Our spiral arm is formally called the Orion-Cygnus Arm. It’s also known simply as the Orion Arm or Local Arm, and you sometimes still hear the names Orion Bridge or Orion Spur.
Can humans travel to another galaxy?
The technology required to travel between galaxies is far beyond humanity’s present capabilities, and currently only the subject of speculation, hypothesis, and science fiction. However, theoretically speaking, there is nothing to conclusively indicate that intergalactic travel is impossible.
Is Cryosleep possible?
There are many instances of animal and human bodies found in the ice, frozen, yet preserved and not damaged by the extreme temperature. This makes the concept of a ‘cryosleep’ sound doable. The first person to be cryopreserved was Dr. James Bedford in 1967.
What is the 4 types of galaxies?
In 1936, Hubble debuted a way to classify galaxies, grouping them into four main types: spiral galaxies, lenticular galaxies, elliptical galaxies, and irregular galaxies.
How does galaxy look like?
Some galaxies are spiral-shaped like ours. They have curved arms that make it look like a pinwheel. Other galaxies are smooth and oval shaped. The light that we see from each of these galaxies comes from the stars inside it.
What is the most powerful thing in the universe?
Quasars inhabit the centers of active galaxies and are among the most luminous, powerful, and energetic objects known in the universe, emitting up to a thousand times the energy output of the Milky Way, which contains 200–400 billion stars.
How many light years does it take to cross the Milky Way?
The Milky Way is about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 km (about 100,000 light years or about 30 kpc) across. The Sun does not lie near the center of our Galaxy.
Is it possible to travel faster than light?
Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity famously dictates that no known object can travel faster than the speed of light in vacuum, which is 299,792 km/s. Unlike objects within space–time, space–time itself can bend, expand or warp at any speed.
