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Elliptical galaxy

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A stunning view of the elliptical galaxy IC 2006, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing how stars form in its outer regions.

Elliptical Galaxies

Elliptical galaxies are a special kind of galaxy. They look like soft ovals or stretched circles made of stars. They are not spiral galaxies, which have arms. Instead, elliptical galaxies are smooth and round.

These galaxies are filled mostly with older stars. Because there is not much gas or dust, very few new stars are born here. Many elliptical galaxies have small groups of stars called globular clusters around them.

Elliptical galaxies are often found in places where many galaxies are close together. They can be small, with only tens of millions of stars, or very big, with more than one hundred trillion stars! Some of the biggest ones are called supergiant ellipticals.

Here are some famous elliptical galaxies you might hear about:

Scientists are still learning how elliptical galaxies formed. Some think they came from many smaller galaxies coming together. Others think they formed very quickly when lots of stars were made at once.

Images

A stunning view of glowing galaxies in space, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The bright central galaxy is surrounded by other galaxies, showcasing the beauty of the universe.
A colorful view of the massive galaxy Hercules A, showing its glowing core and powerful jets of energy as seen by space telescopes.
A stunning view of distant galaxies captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing a bright central galaxy surrounded by smaller galaxies.
A stunning view of NGC 3597, a galaxy formed by the collision of two galaxies, as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
A stunning view of the giant galaxy IC 1101, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, showcasing the beauty of deep space.

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This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Elliptical galaxy, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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