Fast Facts for Kids
Galaxy Facts for Kids

Galaxy Facts for Kids

  • Common Name: Galaxy
  • Description: Gravitationally Bound System of Stars and Celestial Objects
  • Astronomical Body Type: Extrasolar Compound Astronomical Body
  • Closest Galaxy to the Milky Way: Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy (25,000 light-years away)
  • Farthest Galaxy from Earth: GB-z11 High-Redshift Galaxy (32 billion light-years away)
  • Smallest Galaxy in the Universe: Segue 2 Dwarf Galaxy (110 light-years long)
  • Largest Galaxy in the Universe: Alcyoneus Galaxy (16.3 million light-years long)

20 Galaxy Facts For Kids

  1. A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of astronomical objects, like stars, planets, interstellar gas, and other matter.
  2. Galaxies are classified as extrasolar compound astronomical objects by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
  3. A galaxy is held together by the gravity of all the matter within it and/or a supermassive black hole in the galactic center.
  4. There are an estimated 100 to 200 billion galaxies in the observable Universe.
  5. There are an estimated 200 billion trillion (that’s 21 zeros) stars in all the galaxies in the observable Universe.
  6. A small galaxy can have as few as 1,000 stars, while an enormous galaxy can have trillions of stars.
  7. Ancient Greek philosopher Democritus first proposed the idea that the Milky Way might be full of stars around 500 BCE.
  8. American astronomer Edwin Hubble first proved the existence of galaxies in 1923.
  9. Edwin Hubble created the Galaxy morphological classification system still used today in 1926.
  10. The Galaxy morphological classification system created by Hubble is known as the Hubble sequence.
  11. The Hubble sequence has thread broad types of galaxies: elliptical, spiral, and lenticular.
  12. An elliptical galaxy is a galaxy that is ellipsoidal shaped with little to no visible features other than light.
  13. A spiral galaxy is a galaxy that is spiral shaped with arms extending out and rotating around the center.
  14. A lenticular galaxy is a galaxy that is lens shaped, with a bulged disk like a spiral galaxy, but has no arms.
  15. A galaxy that doesn’t have a defined shape is called an irregular galaxy, which is typically has a chaotic appearance.
  16. Our planet Earth is located in the Milky Way galaxy in the Orion Arm.
  17. The largest galaxy in the Universe is the Alcyoneus Galaxy, an elliptical galaxy that is 16.3 million light-years long.
  18. The smallest galaxy in the Universe is the Segue 2, a dwarf spheroidal galaxy that is only 110 light-years long.
  19. The closest galaxy to Earth is the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy at only 25,000 light-years.
  20. The farthest galaxy from Earth is the GB-z11 High-Redshift Galaxy at a mind boggling 32 billion light-years.

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Galaxy Pictures

Pictures are one of the best ways for people to learning about something. That is why we are providing you with the below images to help you with your research on galaxies. Below you will find three pictures that represent galaxies. These pictures should help you better understand galaxies and what they look like.

Example Of A Elliptical Galaxy

An example of a elliptical galaxy.

Example Of A Irregular Galaxy

An example of a irregular galaxy.

Example Of A Spiral Galaxy

An example of a spiral galaxy.

Galaxy Resources

Hopefully the above galaxy facts, data, stats, and pictures were helpful with your research. If you need to continue researching galaxies you can use one of the below websites. We selected the below websites for their credibility and accurate data on galaxies.