Elliptical Galaxy

Elliptical galaxies are massive, smooth stellar systems that appear as glowing ellipses or circles in space, ranging from nearly perfect spheres to highly flattened ovals. These galactic giants contain predominantly ancient red and yellow stars—typically 10-13 billion years old—with minimal star formation activity due to their lack of gas and dust. They're classified using the Hubble sequence from E0 (perfectly round) to E7 (most elongated), based on their apparent shape from Earth.</p><p>First systematically studied by Edwin Hubble in the 1920s, elliptical galaxies represent some of the universe's most massive structures. Giant ellipticals like M87 in the Virgo Cluster can contain over one trillion stars and span 120,000 light-years across—larger than our entire Milky Way. These cosmic behemoths often lurk at the centers of galaxy clusters, having grown through mergers and gravitational capture of smaller galaxies over billions of years.</p><p>Unlike spiral galaxies with their distinctive arms and active star formation, ellipticals appear remarkably uniform and featureless. However, modern observations reveal they harbor supermassive black holes at their cores, sometimes actively feeding and producing spectacular jets of particles. The nearby elliptical galaxy Centaurus A, just 11 million light-years away, showcases such dramatic activity, making ellipticals far more dynamic than their serene appearance suggests.