
Galaxy - Wikipedia
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. [1][2] The word is derived from the Greek galaxias (γαλαξίας), literally …
Galaxies - NASA Science
May 2, 2025 · Galaxies consist of stars, planets, and vast clouds of gas and dust, all bound together by gravity. The largest contain trillions of stars and can be more than a million light …
Galaxies—facts and information | National Geographic
Galaxies are sprawling systems of dust, gas, dark matter, and anywhere from a million to a trillion stars that are held together by gravity. Nearly all large galaxies are thought to also...
Galaxy - ESA/Hubble
Galaxies are collections of stars, dust, gas, and dark matter, which are bound together by the gravitational attraction that results from their own mass. A small dwarf galaxy contains a few …
Galaxies: Collisions, Types and How They're Made | Space
Jan 4, 2019 · Galaxies are composed of stars, dust and dark matter, all held together by gravity. Astronomers aren't certain exactly how galaxies formed. After the Big Bang, space was made …
Milky Way Galaxy | Size, Definition, & Facts | Britannica
Dec 7, 2025 · Milky Way Galaxy, large spiral system consisting of several hundred billion stars, one of which is the Sun. It takes its name from the Milky Way, the irregular luminous band of …
What is a galaxy? - Live Science
Aug 25, 2021 · Galaxies are groups of stars and other space objects held together by gravity. There are more than 100 billion galaxies in the universe, each presenting beautiful structures …
Types - NASA Science
Dec 8, 2025 · Our Milky Way is one example of a broad class of galaxies defined by the presence of spiral arms. These galaxies resemble giant rotating pinwheels with a pancake-like disk of …
What Is a Galaxy? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
Sep 25, 2025 · What Is a Galaxy? The Short Answer: A galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems, all held together by gravity. We live on a planet …
Spiral galaxy - Wikipedia
Spiral galaxies are named by their spiral structures that extend from the center into the galactic disk. The spiral arms are sites of ongoing star formation and are brighter than the surrounding …