After all, why do galaxies have different shapes?

The mysteries of space have intrigued many scientists over the years. Many astronomers have, over the centuries, gradually contributed to science, so that today we can get a great deal of knowledge about the universe that surrounds us.

Despite this, we are still far from understanding everything about the universe, not least because there is an immensity of events, consequences and things, all of which are interconnected.

And that’s exactly what a recent survey found: perhaps our universe is more interconnected than it appears. Everyone who has the slightest knowledge knows the secrets of space.

There is an almost immeasurable distance between celestial bodies, whether they are stars, solar systems or even galaxies.

It is worth remembering that, despite the enormity of our solar system, it is one of the smallest systems in space. Therefore, the huge galaxies, which consist of different solar systems, are of unimaginable size.

That is, even if the density and size are not relative, it can still be said that the galaxies are very dense.

Through the teachings of the brilliant Albert Einstein with his theory of relativity, we have discovered that the greater the mass of an object, the greater the distortion of space-time around it.

Therefore, we can say that galaxies are the equivalent, relative to space, of a billiard ball dropped on a stretched quilt.

You will sink this cloth and pull it around. But what happens when two pool balls fall onto a stretched quilt? Research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society He gives us the answer.

The research explains why galaxies have such a difference in shapes

The astronomers responsible for the research decided to take into account for their research many phenomena found in galaxies.

Such as star formation, black holes, active galactic nuclei, radiative cooling, among others. Therefore, they concluded that the shapes of galaxies are mainly determined by the presence or absence of other galaxies around them.

This happens because, in galaxy clusters, if one of them increases in density (with the formation of a black hole, for example), its density will attract the matter of the neighboring galaxy, causing a change in it. the shape.

Just as galaxies of equivalent density can gradually approach each other. As it occurs between the Milky Way and Andromeda, it eventually leads to a point where they both merge.