How a Galaxy Can Get Booted From Its Home

Cosmic collisions may slingshot tiny galaxies into intergalactic space.

The cosmic world is full of runaways, including billions of planets and stars. Now astronomers can add entire galaxies to the ranks of the homeless.

A team of Russian astronomers has found evidence that compact galaxies can be gravitationally whipped out of their host galaxy cluster. The study appears today in Science.

Extremely compact elliptical galaxies are generally tight, shaped like a ball, and much smaller than most other galaxies that populate the universe, containing at most a few billion stars. Our own run-of-the-mill galaxy, the Milky Way, in contrast, is home to about 100 billion suns.

These compact elliptical galaxies are fairly rare. Until 2013, only 30 or so had been found, and they were all huddling

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.

Create your free account to continue reading

No credit card required. Unlimited access to free content.
Or get a Premium Subscription to access the best of Nat Geo - just $19
SUBSCRIBE

Read This Next

Is banning fishing bad for fishermen? Not in this marine reserve
SeaWorld allegedly violated the Animal Welfare Act. Why is it still open?
'World’s worst shipwreck' was bloodier than we thought

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet