Glossary term: Irregular Galaxy
Description: An irregular galaxy is a type of galaxy with little or no symmetry (it has a distorted morphology or shape). They are typically smaller than spiral and elliptical galaxies, and they often contain significant amounts of star-forming gas. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are irregular galaxies, relatively close (approximately 160,000 light years, and 200,000 light years) to our Milky Way galaxy, that can be observed from Earth's southern hemisphere with the unaided eye.
Related Terms:
See this term in other languages
Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".
