Image: Wikimedia Commons

galaxy

Large gravitationally bound system of stars and interstellar matter

Also known as galaxies · galactic

Instance of: astronomical object type
Subclass of: deep-sky object
Part of: galaxy group or cluster

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

A galaxy is a physical system of stars, planetary systems, stellar remnants, substellar objects, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek galaxias (γαλαξίας), meaning 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. Galaxies, averaging an estimated 100 million stars, range in size from dwarfs with less than a thousand stars to the largest galaxies known—supergiants with one hundred trillion stars, each orbiting its galaxy's center of mass. Most of the mass in a typical galaxy is in the form of dark matter, with only a few percent of that mass visible in the form of stars and nebulae. Supermassive black holes are a common feature at the centers of galaxies.

Overview

All data

93 statements · 18% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Properties for this type: galaxy morphological type
Studied by: astronomy
galaxy formation and evolution
Q12771345
Wikimedia outline: outline of galaxies
Model item: Milky Way applies to use with property: instance of
Andromeda Galaxy applies to use with property: instance of
Hoag's Object applies to use with property: instance of
ESO 137-001 applies to use with property: instance of
Messier 87 applies to use with property: instance of
Different from: Milky Way criterion used: in one of the languages, there is a page that has the name of this page in the same language as a synonym, which differs in that it is written with an uppercase letter
Named after: Milky Way applies to name of subject: galaktos kuklos · applies to name of object: galaktos kuklos
EntitySchema for this class: E441

On other databases

67 identifiers linking galaxy across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

18%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 7, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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Cite this page

AIDB. (2026). galaxy (Q318). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/galaxy-Q318