List of Named Galaxies
This is a list of galaxies that are well known by something other than an entry in a catalog or list, or a set of coordinates, or a systematic designation.
| Galaxy | Origin of name | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milky Way Galaxy | This is the galaxy that contains Earth, it is named after the nebulosity in the night sky that marks the densest concentration of stars of our galaxy in the sky, which appears to blur together into a faint glow, called the Milky Way. | ||
| Andromeda | Commonly just Andromeda, this, called the Andromeda Galaxy, Andromeda Nebula, Great Andromeda Nebula, Andromeda Spiral Nebula, and such, has been traditionally called Andromeda, after the constellation in which it lies. | ||
| Bode's Galaxy | Named for Johann Elert Bode who discovered this galaxy in 1774. | ||
| Cartwheel Galaxy | Its visual appearance is similar to that of a spoked cartwheel. | ||
| Cigar Galaxy | Appears similar in shape to a cigar. | ||
| Comet Galaxy | This galaxy is named after its unusual appearance, looking like a comet. | The comet effect is caused by tidal stripping by its galaxy cluster, Abell 2667. | |
| Hoag's Object | This is named after Art Hoag, who discovered this ring galaxy. | It is of the subtype Hoag-type galaxy, and may in fact be a polar-ring galaxy with the ring in the plane of rotation of the central object. | |
| Large Magellanic Cloud | / | Named after Ferdinand Magellan | This is the fourth largest galaxy in the Local Group, and forms a pair with the SMC, and from recent research, may not be part of the Milky Way system of satellites at all. |
| Small Magellanic Cloud | Named after Ferdinand Magellan | This forms a pair with the LMC, and from recent research, may not be part of the Milky Way system of satellites at all. | |
| Mayall's Object | This is named after Nicholas U. Mayall, of the Lick Observatory, who discovered it. | Also called VV 32 and Arp 148, this is a very peculiar looking object, and is likely to be not one galaxy, but two galaxies undergoing a collision. Event in images is a spindle shape and a ring shape. | |
| Pinwheel Galaxy | Similar in appearance to a pinwheel (toy). | ||
| Sombrero Galaxy | Similar in appearance to a sombrero. | ||
| Sunflower Galaxy | |||
| Tadpole Galaxy | The name comes from the resemblance of the galaxy to a tadpole. | This shape resulted from tidal interaction that drew out a long tidal tail. | |
| Whirlpool Galaxy | From the whirlpool appearance this gravitationally disturbed galaxy exhibits. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Galaxies
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