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The early-type (S0) galaxy NGC4526.
Credit: DSS |
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The late-type (spiral) galaxy M100.
Credit: AAO |
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The late-type (irregular) galaxy NGC1313.
Credit: AAO |
For ease of reference, the Hubble classification scheme is often used to subdivide galaxies into two morphological ‘types’:
A comprehensive survey of nearby galaxies reveals the following percentages for the different morphologies:
Extrapolating to the Universe as a whole, it is estimated that 70% of all galaxies are late-type galaxies and only 30% are early-type. However, this is in contrast to what is found in galaxy clusters where early-type galaxies dominate – an example of the observed morphology density relation where the dominant galaxy type varies with environment.
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