Examine individual changes

'[[File:M101 hires STScI-PRC2006-10a.jpg|thumb|An example of a spiral galaxy, the [[Pinwheel Galaxy]] (also known as Messier 101 or NGC 5457)]] A '''spiral galaxy''' is a [[galaxy morphological classification|certain kind]] of [[galaxy]] originally described by [[Edwin Hubble]] in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''<ref>{{cite book |last=Hubble |first=E. P. |authorlink=Edwin Hubble |title=The Realm of the Nebulae |year=1936 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn= 0300025009}}</ref> and, as such, forms part of the [[Hubble sequence]]. Spiral galaxies consist of a flat, rotating [[galaxy disk|disk]] containing [[star]]s, [[interstellar medium|gas and dust]], and a central concentration of stars known as the [[bulge (astronomy)|bulge]]. These are surrounded by a much fainter [[Galactic halo|halo]] of stars, many of which reside in [[globular cluster]]s. Spiral galaxies are named for the [[spiral]] structures that extend from the center into the disk. The spiral arms are sites of ongoing star formation and are brighter than the surrounding disk because of the young, hot [[OB star]]s that inhabit them. Roughly two-thirds of all spirals are observed to have an additional component in the form of a bar-like structure,<ref name="mihalas1968">{{Cite book| author=D. Mihalas | year=1968 | title=Galactic Astronomy | publisher=W. H. Freeman | isbn=9780716703266}}</ref> extending from the central bulge, at the ends of which the spiral arms begin. Our own [[Milky Way]] has recently (in the 1990s) been confirmed to be a [[barred spiral galaxy|barred spiral]], although the bar itself is difficult to observe from our position within the Galactic disk.<ref>[http://www.sciamdigital.com/index.cfm?fa=Products.ViewIssuePreview&ARTICLEID_CHAR=3BC08F0C-2B35-221B-67A9F2AE04AFC79A Ripples in a Galactic Pond], [[Scientific American]], October 2005</ref> The most convincing evidence for its existence comes from a recent survey, performed by the [[Spitzer Space Telescope]], of stars in the Galactic center.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Benjamin | first=R. A. et al. | year=2005 | month=September | title=First GLIMPSE Results on the Stellar Structure of the Galaxy. | journal=The [[Astrophysical Journal]] Letters | volume=630 | issue=2 | pages=L149–L152 | doi=10.1086/491785 | last2=Churchwell | first2=E. | last3=Babler | first3=B. L. | last4=Indebetouw | first4=R. | last5=Meade | first5=M. R. | last6=Whitney | first6=B. A. | last7=Watson | first7=C. | last8=Wolfire | first8=M. G. | last9=Wolff | first9=M. J.|arxiv = astro-ph/0508325 |bibcode = 2005ApJ...630L.149B }}</ref> Together with [[irregular galaxy|irregular galaxies]], spiral galaxies make up approximately 60% of galaxies in the local [[Universe]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Loveday, J. |year=1996 |month=February |title=The APM Bright Galaxy Catalogue. |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=278 |issue=4 |pages=1025–1048 |bibcode=1996MNRAS.278.1025L|arxiv = astro-ph/9603040 }}</ref> They are mostly found in low-density regions and are rare in the centers of galaxy clusters.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dressler, A. |year=1980 |month=March |title=Galaxy morphology in rich clusters&nbsp;— Implications for the formation and evolution of galaxies. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=236 |pages=351–365 |bibcode=1980ApJ...236..351D |doi=10.1086/157753}}</ref> ==Structure== [[File:UGC 12158.jpg|thumb|[[Barred spiral galaxy]] [[UGC 12158]].]] Spiral galaxies consist of four distinct components: * A flat, rotating disc of (mostly newly created) [[star]]s and [[interstellar medium|interstellar matter]] * A central stellar [[bulge (astronomy)|bulge]] of mainly older stars, which resembles an [[elliptical galaxy]] * A near-spherical [[galactic halo|halo]] of stars, including many in [[globular clusters]] * A [[supermassive black hole]] at the very center of the central bulge The relative importance, in terms of mass, brightness and size, of the different components varies from galaxy to galaxy. ===Spiral arms=== [[File:HAWK-I NGC 1300.jpg|thumb|[[NGC 1300]] in [[infrared]] light.]] '''Spiral arms''' are regions of [[star]]s that extend from the center of [[unbarred spiral galaxy|spiral]] and [[Barred spiral galaxy|barred spiral]] [[galaxies]]. These long, thin regions resemble a spiral and thus give spiral galaxies their name. Naturally, different [[Galaxy morphological classification|classifications of spiral galaxies]] have distinct arm-structures. Sc and SBc galaxies, for instance, have very "loose" arms, whereas Sa and SBa galaxies have tightly wrapped arms (with reference to the Hubble sequence). Either way, spiral arms contain a great many young, blue stars (due to the high mass density and the high rate of star formation), which make the arms so remarkable. ===Galactic bulge=== A '''[[bulge (astronomy)|bulge]]''' is a huge, tightly packed group of [[star]]s. The term commonly refers to the central group of stars found in most spiral galaxies. Using the Hubble classification, the bulge of Sa galaxies is usually composed of population II stars, that are old, red stars with low metal content. Further, the bulge of Sa and SBa galaxies tends to be large. In contrast, the bulges of Sc and SBc galaxies are much smaller and are composed of young, blue Population I stars. Some bulges have similar properties to those of elliptical galaxies (scaled down to lower mass and luminosity); others simply appear as higher density centers of disks, with properties similar to disk galaxies. Many bulges are thought to host a [[supermassive black hole]] at their centers. Such black holes have never been directly observed, but many indirect proofs exist. In our own galaxy, for instance, the object called [[Sagittarius A*]] is believed to be a supermassive black hole. There is a tight correlation between the mass of the black hole and the velocity dispersion of the stars in the bulge, the [[M-sigma relation]]. ===Galactic spheroid=== [[File:NGC 1345 HST.jpg|thumb|Spiral galaxy [[NGC 1345]]]] The bulk of the stars in a spiral galaxy are located either close to a single plane (the [[galactic plane]]) in more or less conventional circular [[orbit]]s around the center of the galaxy (the [[galactic center]]), or in a [[spheroid]]al [[bulge (astronomy)|galactic bulge]] around the galactic core. However, some stars inhabit a '''spheroidal halo''' or '''galactic spheroid''', a type of [[galactic halo]]. The orbital behaviour of these stars is disputed, but they may describe [[retrograde motion|retrograde]] and/or highly [[inclination|inclined]] orbits, or not move in regular orbits at all. Halo stars may be acquired from small galaxies which fall into and [[galaxy merger|merge]] with the spiral galaxy—for example, the [[Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy]] is in the process of merging with the Milky Way and observations show that some stars in the halo of the Milky Way have been acquired from it. Unlike the galactic disc, the halo seems to be free of [[interstellar dust|dust]], and in further contrast, stars in the galactic halo are of [[Population II]], much older and with much lower [[metallicity]] than their [[Population I]] cousins in the galactic disc (but similar to those in the galactic bulge). The galactic halo also contains many [[globular cluster]]s. The motion of halo stars does bring them through the disc on occasion, and a number of small [[red dwarf]] stars close to the [[Sun]] are thought to belong to the galactic halo, for example [[Kapteyn's Star]] and [[Groombridge 1830]]. Due to their irregular movement around the center of the galaxy—if they do so at all—these stars often display unusually high [[proper motion]]. ==Origin of the spiral structure== [[File:NGC 6384 HST.jpg|thumb|Spiral galaxy [[NGC 6384]] taken by [[Hubble Space Telescope]].]] The pioneer of studies of the rotation of the Galaxy and the formation of the spiral arms was [[Bertil Lindblad]] in 1925. He realized that the idea of stars arranged permanently in a spiral shape was untenable due to the "winding dilemma". Since the angular speed of rotation of the galactic disk varies with distance from the centre of the galaxy (via a standard solar system type of gravitational model), a radial arm (like a spoke) would quickly become curved as the galaxy rotates. The arm would, after a few galactic rotations, become increasingly curved and wind around the galaxy ever tighter. This is called the '''winding problem'''. Measurements in the late 1960s showed that the [[Rotation curve|orbital velocity of stars in spiral galaxies]] with respect to their distance from the galactic center is indeed higher than expected from [[Newtonian dynamics]] but still cannot explain the stability of the spiral structure. Since the 1960s, there have been two leading hypotheses or models for the spiral structures of galaxies: * Star formation caused by [[Density wave theory|density waves]] in the [[galactic disk]] of the galaxy. * The [[SSPSF model]] – Star formation caused by shock waves in the [[interstellar medium]]. These different hypotheses do not have to be mutually exclusive, as they may explain different types of spiral arms. ===Density wave model=== {{see also|Density wave theory}} [[Bertil Lindblad]] proposed that the arms represent regions of enhanced density (density waves) that rotate more slowly than the galaxy’s stars and gas. As gas enters a density wave, it gets squeezed and makes new stars, some of which are short-lived blue stars that light the arms. [[File:spiral galaxy arms diagram.svg|thumb|right|Explanation of spiral galaxy arms.]] This idea was developed into [[density wave theory]] by [[C. C. Lin]] and [[Frank Shu]] in 1964.<ref name="LinShu1964">{{cite journal |last=Lin |first=C. C. |authorlink= |coauthors=Shu, F. H. |year=1964 |month= August|title=On the spiral structure of disk galaxies. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=140 |pages=646–655 |bibcode=1964ApJ...140..646L |doi=10.1086/147955}}</ref> They suggested that the spiral arms were manifestations of spiral density waves, attempting to explain the large-scale structure of spirals in terms of a small-amplitude wave propagating with fixed angular velocity, that revolves around the galaxy at a speed different from that of the galaxy's gas and stars. ====Historical theory of Lin and Shu==== The first acceptable theory for the spiral structure was devised by C. C. Lin and Frank Shu in 1964. They suggested that the spiral arms were manifestations of spiral density waves, they assumed that the stars travel in slightly elliptical orbits, and that the orientations of their orbits is correlated i.e. the ellipses vary in their orientation (one to another) in a smooth way with increasing distance from the galactic center. This is illustrated in the diagram. It is clear that the elliptical orbits come close together in certain areas to give the effect of arms. Stars therefore do not remain forever in the position that we now see them in, but pass through the arms as they travel in their orbits.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} ====Star formation caused by density waves==== The following hypotheses exist for star formation caused by density waves: *As gas clouds move into the density wave, the local mass density increases. Since the criteria for cloud collapse (the [[Jeans instability]]) depends on density, a higher density makes it more likely for clouds to collapse and form stars. *As the compression wave goes through, it triggers star formation on the leading edge of the spiral arms. *As clouds get swept up by the spiral arms, they collide with one another and drive [[shock waves]] through the gas, which in turn causes the gas to collapse and form stars. [[File:NGC 3810 (captured by the Hubble Space Telescope).jpg|thumb|The bright galaxy NGC 3810 demonstrates classical spiral structure in this very detailed image from Hubble. Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA.]] ===More young stars in spiral arms=== The arms appear brighter because there are more young stars (hence more massive, bright stars). These massive, bright stars also die out quickly, which would leave just the darker background stellar distribution behind the waves, hence making the waves visible. While stars, therefore, do not remain forever in the position that we now see them in, they also do not follow the arms. The arms simply appear to pass through the stars as the stars travel in their orbits. ===Alignment of spin axis with cosmic voids=== Recent results suggest that the orientation of the spin axis of spiral galaxies is not a chance result, but instead they are preferentially aligned along the surface of [[Void (astronomy)|cosmic voids]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Trujillo | first=I. | coauthors=Carretero, C.; Patiri, S.G. | title=Detection of the Effect of Cosmological Large-Scale Structure on the Orientation of Galaxies | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | year=2006 | volume=640 | issue=2 | pages=L111–L114 | bibcode=2005astro.ph.11680T | doi=10.1086/503548 |arxiv = astro-ph/0511680 }}</ref> That is, spiral galaxies tend to be oriented at a high angle of inclination relative to the large-scale structure of the surroundings. They have been described as lining up like "beads on a string," with their axis of rotation following the [[Galaxy filament|filaments]] around the edges of the voids.<ref>{{cite web | last = Alder | first = Robert | year = 2006 | url = http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=4215 | title = Galaxies like necklace beads | publisher = Astronomy magazine | accessdate = 2006-08-10 }}</ref> ===Spiral arms seen as transient structures=== In April 2011 a presentation to the [[Royal Astronomical Society]]'s April 2011 National Astronomy Meeting in [[Llandudno, Wales]] by postgraduate student Robert Grand, suggested that spiral arms do not rotate rigidly at a constant angular velocity about the galactic centre. This contradicts a 50 year old theory called Spiral Density Wave Theory (SDWT), which states that the spiral arm pattern we see is actually a wave pattern, that rotates independently of star and inter-stellar matter that follow the standard rotation curve of the galaxy. Stars that move faster than the arms can overtake them and move through them. Consequently, stars outside this radius move slower than the arm and fall behind. Rather than a long-lived rigidly rotating wave pattern found in SDWT, Grand's simulations suggested that the arms rotate with a pattern speed that decreases with radius, and that they are transient features, with some arms breaking up and new ones being formed over periods of 80 to 100 million years.<ref>{{cite web|title=New theory of evolution for spiral galaxy arms|url=http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-theory-evolution-spiral-galaxy-arms.html|work=[[PhysOrg.com]]|accessdate=April 22, 2011|date=April 21, 2011}}</ref> Instead of stars rotating independently of the arm pattern, they co-rotate at every radius, as the arm pattern speed traces very well the rotation curve of matter. The destruction of the arms is due to a declining pattern speed, which means that the arms begin to wind up and so break to avoid the well-known Wind-Up problem. This pattern of arm formation and destruction has not been observed in real galaxies, mainly because this pattern would take tens of millions of years to observe from start to finish. As observers, we can only observe what is a relative "snapshot" of a galaxy's evolution, and since there are always new arms forming as older ones die, there is always a spiral pattern present. Therefore, a simple glance at a galaxy will not yield evidence either way. A real observational contribution will come from the Gaia satellite, due to be launched in the coming years. ===Gravitationally aligned orbits=== {{see also|Gravitationally aligned orbits}} In a recent paper published in Proc. Roy. Soc. A<ref>[http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2009.0036 Proc. R. Soc. A 8 November 2009 vol. 465 no. 2111 3425-3446]</ref>, Charles Francis and Erik Anderson showed from observations of motions of over 20 000 local stars (within 300 parsecs), that stars do move along spiral arms, and described how mutual gravity between stars causes orbits to align on logarithmic spirals. When the theory is applied to gas, collisions between gas clouds generate the [[molecular clouds]] in which [[Protostar|new stars]] form, and evolution towards grand-design bisymmetric spirals is explained. ==Spiral nebula== "Spiral nebula" is an old term for a spiral galaxy. Until the early 20th century, most astronomers believed that objects like the [[Whirlpool Galaxy]] were just one more form of [[nebula]] that were within our own [[Milky Way]] galaxy. The idea that they might instead be other galaxies, independent of the Milky Way, was the subject of [[the Great Debate]] of 1920, between [[Heber Curtis]] of [[Lick Observatory]] and [[Harlow Shapley]] of [[Mt. Wilson Observatory]]. In 1926, [[Edwin Hubble]]<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hubble, E. P. |authorlink=Edwin Hubble |year=1926 |month=May |title=A spiral nebula as a stellar system: Messier 33. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=63 |pages=236–274 |bibcode=1926ApJ....63..236H |doi=10.1086/142976}}</ref> observed [[Cepheid variables]] in several spiral nebulae, including the [[Andromeda Galaxy]], proving that they are, in fact, entire galaxies outside our own. The term "spiral nebula" has since fallen into disuse. ==Milky Way== The [[Milky Way]] was once considered an ordinary spiral galaxy. Astronomers first began to suspect that the Milky Way is a [[barred spiral galaxy]] in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Chen, W.; Gehrels, N.; Diehl, R.; Hartmann, D. | title=On the spiral arm interpretation of COMPTEL ²⁶Al map features | journal=Space Science Reviews | year=1996 | volume=120 | pages=315–316 | bibcode=1996A&AS..120C.315C | last2=Gehrels | last3=Diehl | last4=Hartmann}}</ref> Their suspicions were confirmed by the [[Spitzer Space Telescope]] observations in 2005<ref name="fn3">{{cite news | first=Maggie | last=McKee | title=Bar at Milky Way's heart revealed | publisher=New Scientist | date=August 16, 2005 | url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7854--bar-at-milky-ways-heart-revealed.html | accessdate=2009-06-17 }}</ref> which showed the galaxy's central bar to be larger than previously suspected. ==Famous examples== {{col-begin}} {{col-3}} *[[Triangulum (galaxy)|Triangulum Galaxy]] *[[Whirlpool (galaxy)|Whirlpool Galaxy]] {{col-3}} *[[Andromeda Galaxy]] {{col-3}} *[[Sunflower Galaxy]] *[[Pinwheel Galaxy]] {{col-end}} ==See also== ===Components=== {{col-begin}} {{col-3}} * [[Galactic disk]] * [[Bulge (astronomy)]] {{col-3}} * [[Galactic halo]] {{col-3}} * [[Galactic corona]] {{col-end}} ===Classification=== {{col-begin}} {{col-3}} * [[Galaxy color-magnitude diagram]] * [[Galaxy morphological classification]] * [[Hubble sequence]] * [[Disc galaxy]] * [[Active galaxy]] * [[Barred spiral galaxy]] {{col-3}} * [[Dwarf galaxy]] * [[Dwarf elliptical galaxy]] * [[Dwarf spheroidal galaxy]] * [[Elliptical galaxy]] * [[Grand design spiral galaxy]] * [[Intermediate spiral galaxy]] * [[Irregular galaxy]] {{col-3}} * [[Lenticular galaxy]] * [[Ring galaxy]] * [[Starburst galaxy]] * [[Seyfert galaxy]] * [[Unbarred spiral galaxy]] {{col-end}} ===Other=== {{col-begin}} {{col-3}} * [[Galactic coordinate system]] * [[Galaxy formation and evolution]] * [[Groups and clusters of galaxies]] {{col-3}} * [[List of galaxies]] * [[List of nearest galaxies]] {{col-3}} * [[Timeline of galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and large scale structure]] * [[Tully-Fisher relation]] {{col-end}} ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Spiral galaxies}} * {{cite journal | author=Giudice, G.F.; Mollerach, S.; Roulet, E. | title=Can EROS/MACHO be detecting the galactic spheroid instead of the galactic halo? | journal=Physical Review D | year=1994 | volume=50 | issue=4 | pages=2406–2413 | arxiv=astro-ph/9312047 | doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.50.2406|bibcode = 1994PhRvD..50.2406G }} * {{cite news | last = Stephens | first = Tim | title=AEGIS survey reveals new principle governing galaxy formation and evolution | publisher=UC Santa Cruz | date=March 6, 2007 | url=http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/text.asp?pid=1080 | accessdate=2006-05-24 }} * [http://www.seds.org/messier/spir.html Spiral Galaxies @ SEDS Messier pages] * [http://spiralzoom.com/Science/spiralgalaxies/SpiralGalaxies.html ''SpiralZoom.com''], an educational website about Spiral Galaxies and other spiral formations found in nature. For high school & general audience. * [http://burro.cwru.edu/Academics/Astr222/Galaxies/Spiral/spiral.html Spiral Structure explained] * [http://www.astro.wisc.edu/sirtf/ GLIMPSE: the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire] {{Galaxy}} [[Category:Spiral galaxies| ]] [[Category:Galaxy morphological types]] [[Category:Spirals]] [[ar:مجرة حلزونية]] [[zh-min-nan:Kńg-lê gîn-hô]] [[bg:Спирална галактика]] [[bs:Spiralna galaksija]] [[ca:Galàxia espiral]] [[cs:Spirální galaxie]] [[de:Spiralgalaxie]] [[el:Σπειροειδής γαλαξίας]] [[es:Galaxia espiral]] [[eo:Spirala galaksio]] [[eu:Galaxia kiribil]] [[fa:کهکشان مارپیچی]] [[fr:Galaxie spirale]] [[ko:나선 은하]] [[hi:सर्पिल आकाशगंगा]] [[hr:Spiralna galaktika]] [[it:Galassia spirale]] [[he:גלקסיה ספירלית]] [[lb:Spiralgalaxis]] [[lt:Spiralinė galaktika]] [[hu:Spirálgalaxis]] [[nl:Spiraalvormig sterrenstelsel]] [[ja:渦巻銀河]] [[no:Spiralgalakse]] [[nn:Spiralgalakse]] [[pl:Galaktyka spiralna]] [[pt:Galáxia espiral]] [[ru:Спиральная галактика]] [[sk:Špirálová galaxia]] [[sr:Спирална галаксија]] [[fi:Kierteisgalaksi]] [[sv:Spiralgalax]] [[th:ดาราจักรชนิดก้นหอย]] [[tr:Sarmal gökada]] [[uk:Спіральна галактика]] [[zh:螺旋星系]]'