constellations leo

Types of Galaxies 

When a mix of stars, planets, supernova remnants, and stellar debris are gravitationally locked and spinning, usually on the outer boundaries of a super massive black hole, a galaxy forms. 

Leo is home to some of the most beautiful galaxies in the universe, including the Leo Triplet, a small galaxy cluster about 35 million light-years from earth.

  • Elliptical galaxies are diffuse and three dimensional, filled with older stars and star clusters that quietly evolve from main sequence stars into dwarfs without the dramatic and volatile supernova explosions of younger, hotter stars. Only about 15-20 percent of the galaxies in the universe are thought to be the elliptical type.
  • Spiral galaxies are more common. Their core is either a super massive black hole that radiates x-rays and electromagnetic waves, or a mass of globular clusters, dense groupings of old, tightly bound stars. Spiral galaxies are flat with a bulge at the center and spiral “arms” filled with evolving star clusters and inter-stellar debris.
  • Irregular galaxies are just that, irregularly shaped regions filled with stars and gaseous debris that are diffuse like an elliptical galaxy and asymmetrical. constellations leo triplet galaxies constellations M95 galaxy constellations M96 galaxy
  • Alpha Leonis is the star Regulus, or “little king,” a spark of light found near the front foot of the lion. The light from Regulus is the combined luminosity of four stars; a bright main sequence star orbited by a small binary system and one other low-light white dwarf star with a mass just one third of the earth’s sun
  • Beta Leonis is the lion’s “tail.” Denebola is 75 times larger than earth’s sun. At only 36 light years away from earth, this variable star is one of the brightest on the ecliptic. A field of orbiting asteroids surrounding it could mean that it’s a younger star, only 400-500 million years old, and Denebola happens to be a target of study in the search for other earth-like planets