Myth vs Reality: Galaxy Differences

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach.

All images, illustrations, and videos courtesy of NASA, ESA, and STScI except:

 

·       Milky Way panoramas courtesy of ESO/Y. Beletsky and ESO/Bruno Gilli

·       Photos of Edwin Hubble courtesy of Huntington Library

·       Andromeda Galaxy image courtesy of Bill Schoening, Vanessa Harvey/REU program/NOAO/AURA/NSF

·       Photo of Henrietta Leavitt courtesy of American Institute of Physics, Emilio Segrè Visual Archives

·       M33, M94, NGC 55, M49, and M84 images courtesy of NOAO/AURA/NSF

·       NGC 6822 image courtesy of Local Group Galaxies Survey Team/NOAO/AURA/NSF

·       NGC 1232 image courtesy of ESO/P. Grosbøl

·       NGC 4449 image courtesy of Digital Sky Survey/AURA

·       NGC 1300 image courtesy of Hillary Mathis/NOAO/AURA/NSF

·       Small Magellanic Cloud image courtesy of F. Winkler/Middlebury College, the MCELS Team, and NOAO/AURA/NSF

·       NGC 55 color image courtesy of T. A. Rector/NOAO/AURA/NSF

 

Written by Vanessa Thomas

Designed by John Godfrey 

Music courtesy of Association Production Music

(SPEECH) 

 [ELECTRONIC MUSIC] 

(DESCRIPTION) 
 Top left, a black and white picture of a minotaur. Top right, a color picture of a galaxy. 

Text, MYTH versus REALITY 

Myth side 

Text, All galaxies are the same. 

Reality side 

Text, The shapes of galaxies vary -- some are spiral, some are elliptical, and some have no definite shape. Galaxies also differ in color, composition, orientation, age, size, the number of stars within them, and distance from Earth.