1. Galaxy Classification
The Categories
Stellar systems
Stellar Clusters
Galaxies
Galaxy Groups and Clusters
Galaxy Superclusters
The Universe
Galaxies are classified by their appearance
Spiral
Central roundish bulge plus disk
Barred Spiral
Central elongated bulge plus disk
Elliptical
Elongated bulge, no disk
Irregular
No discernible shape

2. Spiral Galaxies Pinwheel-like Central Bulge, spiral arms
Spiral arms, etc., signs of rotation
Young and old stars, gas, dust
80% of large galaxies are Spirals or Barred Spirals
Classified by amount of arms, and how tight or loose they are
S0 - no distinguishable spiral arms
Sa, Sb, Sc, Sd - more spiral arms, and looser

3. S0
Central Bulge
Disk
No Spiral Arms

4. Sa
Central Bulge
Disk
Tight spiral arms

5. Sb
Central Bulge
Disk
Spiral arms

6. Sc
Central Bulge
Disk
Loose spiral arms

7. Sd
Central Bulge
Disk
Very loose spiral arms

8. Barred Spirals Like Spirals, but bulge is oblong
Central bulge, spiral arms
Spiral arms, etc., signs of rotation
Young and old stars, gas, dust
Classified by amount of arms, and how tight or loose they are
SB0 - no distinguishable spiral arms
SBa, SBb, SBc, SBd - more spiral arms, and looser
Milky Way is probably barred spiral SBb

9. SB0
Central Bar
Disk
No spiral arms

10. SBa
Central Bulge
Disk
Tight spiral arms

11. SBb
Central Bar
Disk
Spiral arms
Milky Way?

12. SBc
Central Bar
Disk
Looser spiral arms

13. SBd
Central Bar
Disk
Very loose spiral arms

14. Q. 93: Only Old Stars in Elliptical Galaxies
Look like a sphere or a flattened sphere
Little gas and dust
Mostly old stars
Classified by how round they look
E0 looks circular
E7 is very elongated
Elliptical galaxies have the largest range of masses
Dwarf Spheroidal are the smallest
Giant Ellipticals are the largest
Q. 93: Only Old Stars in Elliptical Galaxies

15. E0

16. E1

17. E2

18. E3

19. E4

20. E5

21. E6

22. E7

23. Elliptical Galaxy Shapes
Appearance may depend on angle of view
Amount of flattening probably has to do with rotation

24. Irregular Galaxies Gas, dust, young and old stars
Like a galactic disk, no spirals, a mess
Classified as Irr

25. Hubble’s Tuning Fork S0 - Sa - Sb - Sc - Sd E0-E1-E2-E3-E4-E5-E6-E7
Spirals, Barred Spirals, and Ellipticals fit together in a pattern called the Tuning Fork Diagram
S0 - Sa - Sb - Sc - Sd
E0-E1-E2-E3-E4-E5-E6-E7
SB0-SBa-SBb-SBc-SBd

26. Spiral and Barred Spiral Galaxy Structure
The disk
The bulge
The nucleus
The halo
Globular clusters
Q. 94: Looking For Dark Matter in Spiral Galaxies

27. Dark Matter in Spiral Galaxies
Spirals Rotate
Rotation measured by Doppler shift
Mass, again, not concentrated in the center
85% of mass is dark matter
Flat rotation curves  dark matter

28. Elliptical Galaxy Structure
The visible part
The nucleus
The halo
Globular clusters

29. Elliptical Halos
Elliptical galaxies don’t have thick clouds, but they do have diffuse, hot gas
These gasses emit X-rays
Gravity vs. pressure – they expand to make a giant sphere
Amount of gravity tells us 85% of the mass of the galaxy is dark matter in the halo

30. Can we explain these differences?
Differences - Spirals vs. Ellipticals
Spirals have disks and spiral structure
Spirals have dust/gas/young stars in the disk
Ellipticals have hot gas spread out through a large halo
Can we explain these differences?

31. Hot Gas Vs. Cool Gas Hot gas has low density
Low density gas cools slowly
Will not cool off in age of universe
Hot gas has pressure:
Gravity vs. pressure = sphere
An elliptical galaxy
Cool gas has high density
High density gas cools more quickly
Can cool off further in short time
Cool gas has little pressure, but still has rotation
Gravity vs. rotation = disk
A spiral (or barred spiral) galaxy

32. What Determines Galaxy Type?
If we have a source of cool gas:
Gas will form a disk
Disk will form stars
There will be young stars
If all gas is hot:
Gas remains in a giant halo, no disk
No star formation
No young stars
Conclusion: If you have a source of cool gas, you get a spiral or barred spiral, otherwise get elliptical

33. Q. 95: The Most Damaging Galaxy Collisions
Why They Matter
When two galaxies collide or nearly collide, they can affect each other
The stars themselves do not collide – they are too far apart
Clouds of gas can collide
Bursts of star formation
Gas can get fed to the center (nucleus) of the galaxy
Gas can be heated
The gravity from each galaxy affects the other
May distort the shape of the two galaxies
Galaxies may merge
Q. 95: The Most Damaging Galaxy Collisions

34. Near Misses
As they pass near each other, the gravity of each distorts the other
The slower they pass, the bigger the effect
If unequal in size, smaller galaxy is affected most
There is “tidal friction” which slows down the motion of the two galaxies
Over time, the two galaxies will move closer and closer with each pass
Eventually, a true collision will occur

35. Galaxy Collisions
What happens depends on relative size of the two galaxies
Big + Small:
Small galaxy is completely disrupted
Stars slowly absorbed to larger galaxy
This is currently happening to our own galaxy
Sagittarius Dwarf and Canis Major Dwarf - currently getting eaten
Virgo Stellar Stream – Former galaxy being digested
Two Equal sized galaxies:
Resultant galaxy will be irregular, initially
Gas will get heated by collision – depending on speed
Galaxies will settle into elliptical or spiral

36. Colliding Galaxies

37. Colliding Galaxies

38. Colliding Galaxies
MW - Andromeda Collision

39. Colliding Galaxies