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What Is a Galaxy?

Galaxies are concentrations of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are fated to collide, like the Milky Way and Andromeda.
  • Release Date
    April 17, 2019
  • Science Release
    A “Jellyfish” Galaxy Swims Into View of NASA’s Upcoming Webb Telescope
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  • Credit
    Video: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

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Related Images & Videos

Left of center is a galaxy that looks like a white-and-blue swirl with several blue filaments that trail downward. Its transparent white spiral arms rotate in a clockwise motion.

Galaxy ESO 137-001: Visible (Hubble)

The spiral galaxy ESO 137-001, seen here in an image from Hubble, is an example of a “jellyfish” galaxy, because blue tendrils of star formation stream away from it like jellyfish tentacles.

Spiral galaxy with a blue tail

Galaxy ESO 137-001: Visible and X-ray (Hubble, Chandra)

This composite view of ESO 137-001 includes visible light from Hubble and X-ray light from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (in blue). It reveals a tail of hot gas that has been stripped from the galaxy.

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Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Video Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

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