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irregular galaxy

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
irregular galaxy
A galaxy that does not have the clearly defined shape and structure of typical elliptical, lenticular, or spiral galaxies. Irregular galaxies typically contain large amounts of gas and dust, and their stars are often young. They account for only a small percentage of known galaxies. Some irregular galaxies are the result of gravitational interactions or collisions between formerly regular galaxies. Many irregular galaxies orbit larger regular ones; the Magellanic Cloud galaxies orbiting the Milky Way are examples. Compare elliptical galaxylenticular galaxyspiral galaxy See more at Hubble classification system.


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Neff suggests that gravitational pull from another galaxy that passed nearby, perhaps the irregular galaxy M82, could have helped form the ring-shaped feature.
Heavenly bodies make their UV film debut by Cowen, Ron / Science News
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