Glossary term: Lenticular Galaxy
Description: The word lenticular is used to describe objects that have a lens shape. Lenticular (S0 or SB0) galaxies have observational features of both spiral and elliptical galaxies. Lenticular galaxies appear to have a disk and central bulge similar to spiral galaxies but no noticeable spiral arms; they also primarily also contain very old stars, like those that dominate in elliptical galaxies. The formation process of lenticular galaxies is still a subject of research; however, there is some evidence that they result from the interaction between galaxies.
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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".
