jellyfish galaxy
English
Etymology
From the appearance of the galaxy being reminiscent of a jellyfish.
Noun
jellyfish galaxy (plural jellyfish galaxies)
- (galaxies) a type of galaxy created by ram pressure stripping the interstellar gas from a galaxy by the high temperature higher pressure intracluster medium, forming long tendrils of concentrated gas trailing behind the galaxy, which form nebulae and new stars, giving the appearance of celestial jellyfish
Hypernyms
- RPS galaxy (ram pressure stripped galaxy)
- cluster galaxy (a galaxy that belongs to a galaxy cluster)
- starburst galaxy (a galaxy undergoing an intense bout of star formation (starburst))
Coordinate terms
- comet galaxy (another type of galaxy caused by ram pressure stripping, resulting in the appearance like a comet, with a tail trailing behind the galaxy)
See also
- blue galaxy (a galaxy with many young new stars that are bluer in color than aged stars that gradually redden)
- green galaxy (a galaxy with a low rate of formation of new stars resulting in a mixing of starlight of blue and red stars that end up appearing green)
- red galaxy (a galaxy that appears red due to the aging of the stellar population resulting in a spectrum shift, and lack of new young bluer stars)
- dead galaxy (a galaxy that is not forming new stars)
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