Irregular and Peculiar
Galaxies

[Key Words] [Irregular Galaxies] [Designation] [Peculiar Galaxies]

Key Words

Irregular Galaxies
Irregular galaxies have no particular shape. They contain mostly old stars, and have a lot of gas and dust. Irregular galaxies are also quite smaller than other galaxies. They generally have 1/1000 the mass of a typical spiral or elliptical galaxy. Irregular galaxies may get their odd shape from the formation of new stars or the pull of a neighboring galaxy. Examples of irregular galaxies are the nearby Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.

Designation
Irregular galaxies are designated by type Irr.

Peculiar Galaxies
All galaxies fit right in to one of the 3 main categories of galaxies, spiral, elliptical, and irregular. Some galaxies have additional characteristics that make them peculiar. They could show features of several galaxy types, have strong emissions of radio waves, have giant jets of gas spewing out from the nucleus, among other peculiarities. Peculiar galaxies have (pec) at the end of their normal designation.

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[Key Words] [Irregular Galaxies] [Designation] [Peculiar Galaxies]