The Shape Changing Galaxies

There are traditionally held views on the shape of different galaxies which are now being questioned at the Cardiff University by researchers. It was initially believed that the galaxy was formed in a certain shape and maintained that shape, more or less, over a period of time. This was an accepted practice till a team of scientists have shown over the course of a new study that galaxies can actually change their shapes over a period of time.

At Cardiff University the researchers have been using the Hubble and Herschel telescopes to observe galaxies and classified them into two primary types. The flat, rotating, disc-shaped galaxies like the Milky way is the first shape and the large, oval-shaped galaxies with a swarm of disordered stars is the second shape. As they looked further out in to the night sky and so further into the past, they noticed that the majority of galaxies that formed shortly after the Big Bang were disc shaped.

However when they compared the 83% disc shaped galaxies in the ancient past to the mere 49% disc shaped galaxies in the more recent past, they developed the theory that galaxies indeed change their shapes over a period of time. Of course this science project is in a nascent state and will need a whole lot more collaboration.