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Professor Monica Grady and Philippa Smith, from the Open University's space science team, give you the lowdown on what to look for if you want to take up stargazing. From big bang to black holes; from spotting stars to identifying galaxies this collection is a beginner's guide to astronomy introducing you to the key features at each level of size whether solar, stellar, or galactic.
Track 2: What happens when galaxies collide?
Collisions between galaxies take hundreds of millions of years to complete, and are driven by the effect of gravity. The Milky Way is itself falling towards the Andromeda galaxy, and in about five billion years, these galaxies will merge. What will this be like?
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Tracks in this podcast:
| Track | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identifying different types of galaxy | Galaxies are categorised according to their apparent shape. These shapes are typically divided into elliptical, spiral or irregular. The shape of a galaxy gives a clue to the age and types of star within the galaxy. Play now Identifying different types of galaxy |
| 2 | What happens when galaxies collide? | Collisions between galaxies take hundreds of millions of years to complete, and are driven by the effect of gravity. The Milky Way is itself falling towards the Andromeda galaxy, and in about five billion years, these galaxies will merge. What will this be like? Play now What happens when galaxies collide? |
| 3 | How galaxies interact | Interacting galaxies are found throughout the Universe, sometimes as dramatic collisions that trigger bursts of star formation, on other occasions as gradual mergers that result in new galaxies. Play now How galaxies interact |
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