What are elliptical galaxies?

Elliptical galaxies are big space groups that look kind of like squished oranges in the sky.

Imagine you have a bag full of marbles, all different sizes, but they’re all mixed together and moving around in one big swirl. That’s what elliptical galaxies feel like up close. They don’t have a clear shape like a circle or a square; instead, they look more like stretched-out ovals. Some are rounder than others, just like some marbles are bigger than others.

Elliptical galaxies are usually quiet places in space, not many stars are zooming around, and the ones that are move slowly, like kids on a playground who take their time to run. This is because they’ve been around for a very long time, and most of the action happened a while ago.

These galaxies are made up of billions of stars, all packed together in one big family. They don’t have many bright, young stars like spiral galaxies do, instead, they’re full of older stars that glow softly, like old friends who know all the best stories.

Sometimes, elliptical galaxies form when two or more galaxies come together and merge, just like when you mix different colors of paint to make a new one.