Elliptical galaxy

An elliptical galaxy is a galaxy belonging to one of the three main classes of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work “The Realm of the Nebulae” and, as such, forms part of the Hubble sequence. Elliptical galaxies have smooth, featureless light-profiles and range in shape from nearly spherical to highly flattened, and in size from hundreds of millions to over one trillion stars. In the outer regions, many stars are grouped into globular clusters. Most elliptical galaxies are composed of older, low-mass stars, with a sparse interstellar medium and minimal star formation activity. Elliptical galaxies are believed to make up approximately 10-15% of galaxies in the local Universe. They are preferentially found close to the centers of galaxy clusters and are less common in the early Universe.
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A galaxy with an ellipsoidal shape. Elliptical galaxies are characterised by an absence of spiral arms. Most are deficient in dust and few possess regions of current star formation. From observations it is seen that eighty per cent of galaxies are elliptical. One theory states that ellipticals are produced by galactic mergers of spiral galaxies . See also cD galaxy .