10 unseen images of spiral galaxies captured by NASA

The way spiral galaxies rotate helps astronomers study dark matter, since their rotation speeds suggest there’s more mass present than what we can see with just visible matter.

Spiral arms are areas where new stars are actively forming, filled with young, blue stars because of the dense gas and dust present there.

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When spiral galaxies interact or merge with other galaxies, their shapes can become distorted, sometimes resulting in irregular forms or the creation of new galactic structures.

They are grouped into types (Sa, Sb, Sc) depending on how tightly their spiral arms are wound and the size of their central bulge.

Some spiral galaxies feature a central bar-shaped structure stretching from the core, and these are called barred spiral galaxies (SBa, SBb, SBc).

Spiral galaxies are widespread in the universe, making up around 60–75% of all galaxies—including our own Milky Way.

This NASA/ESA Hubble image features NGC 4423, a spiral galaxy located 55 million light-years away in the Virgo constellation. Though it has an unusual, tube-like shape, it is still classified as a spiral galaxy.

Around spiral galaxies lies a halo of older stars and globular clusters that stretches well beyond the visible disk, holding traces of the galaxy’s earliest formation.

Source: NASA