
Galaxy - Wikipedia
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. [1][2] The word is derived from the Greek galaxias (γαλαξίας), meaning 'milky', a reference to …
Galaxies - NASA Science
4 days ago · Galaxies consist of stars, planets, and vast clouds of gas and dust, all bound together by gravity. The largest contain trillions of stars and can be more than a million light-years across. The …
Galaxy | Definition, Formation, Types, Properties, & Facts | Britannica
Apr 29, 2026 · What is a galaxy? A galaxy is any of the systems of stars and interstellar matter that make up the universe. Many such assemblages are so enormous that they contain hundreds of …
What’s a galaxy? All you need to know about galaxies - EarthSky
Mar 18, 2026 · A galaxy can contain hundreds of billions of stars and be many thousands of light-years across. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is around 100,000 light-years in diameter.
Galaxy - ESA/Hubble
Galaxies are collections of stars, dust, gas, and dark matter, which are bound together by the gravitational attraction that results from their own mass. A small dwarf galaxy contains a few million …
What is a galaxy? - Live Science
Aug 25, 2021 · Galaxies are groups of stars and other space objects held together by gravity. There are more than 100 billion galaxies in the universe, each presenting beautiful structures that can be seen in...
What is a Galaxy? - sciencenewstoday.org
Mar 19, 2025 · A galaxy is one of the largest structures in the universe. It is a gravitationally bound system made up of stars, planets, gas, dust, dark matter, and often mysterious phenomena such as …
What is a galaxy? - BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Jan 18, 2024 · A galaxy is a concentration of millions or billions of stars, gas clouds and pockets of dust, all bound by gravity and swathed in a cocoon of mysterious dark matter.
How Galaxies Work | HowStuffWorks
Nov 8, 2023 · A galaxy is a large system of stars, gas (mostly hydrogen), dust and dark matter that orbits a common center and is bound together by gravity — you can think of them as "island universes."
What is a Galaxy? - AMNH
Galaxies are titanic swarms of tens of millions to trillions of stars, orbiting around their common center of gravity. They also contain interstellar gas and dust. Galaxies show a range of shapes that …