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Weird and Wonderful Irregular Galaxies

Spiral and elliptical galaxies seem neatly put together, but what happened to irregular galaxies? Irregular galaxies have one-of-a-kind shapes and many look like blobs! Why do they look the way they do? Astronomers think the uniqueness of these galaxies results from their interactions with other galaxies — like when they pass close to one another or even collide!

Looking back at the early universe with the help of our Hubble Space Telescope’s “deep field” observations, astronomers can peek at galaxies millions and billions of light-years away. They noticed that these far-away galaxies appear unusually messy, showing more star formation and mergers than galaxies closer to the Milky Way.

We also see irregular galaxies closer to home, though. Some may form when two galaxies pass close together in a near-miss. When this happens, their gravity pulls stars out of place in both galaxies, messing up the neat structure they originally had as spiral or elliptical galaxies. Think of it like this: you happen to have a pile of papers sitting at the edge of a table and when someone passes close by the papers become ruffled and may scatter everywhere! Even though the two galaxies never touched, gravity's effects leave them looking smeared or distorted.

Some irregular galaxies result from the collision between two galaxies. And while some of these look like a blob of stars and dust, others form dazzling ring galaxies! Scientists think these may be a product of collisions between small and large galaxies. These collisions cause ripples that disturb both galaxies, throwing dust, gas, and stars outward. When this happens, it pushes out a ring of material, causing gas clouds to collide and spark the birth of new stars. After just a few million years, stars larger than our Sun explode as supernovae, leaving neutron stars and black holes throughout the ring!

Not all galaxy collisions create irregular galaxies — our Milky Way spiral galaxy has gone through many mergers but has stayed intact! And for some interacting galaxies, being an irregular galaxy may just be a phase in their transformation. We’re observing them at a snapshot in time where things are messy, but they may eventually become neat and structured spirals and ellipticals.

Irregular galaxies are similar to each other, but unique and beautiful because of their different interactions, whether they’re just passing another galaxy or taking part in a dramatic collision. Keep up with NASA Universe on Facebook and Twitter where we post regularly about galaxies.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

😢

R.I.P. David Prowse.

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✨Spooky Days 🌌 gifs made by me :)

We have hope; hope that things can get better. And they will.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!

Very excited for this!

Concept Art for Andor (2022)

This show is BY FAR the best thing in Star Wars since Rebels and Rogue One. Slow burn stories are so worth it.

“What game is this?” “No game. Kill me… or take me in.” —Andor 1x12: Rix Road

Lovely art!

Would love to see Ezra come home. ❤️

Filoni, please, bring him back to his space mom ;-;

I wish more people understood this.

What Does Executive Dysfunction Look Like?

Here, while focused and not overstimulated, I asked The Kid to draw an apple and spell it:

He is able to write the word apple all by himself, from memory. He knows how to spell apple, and he knows that he knows. He needs a simple visual aid to draw an apple himself, his apple resembles an apple (as drawn by a 6 yo, anyway).

Here, while slightly overstimulated, I ask The Kid to draw a cat and write the word cat:

Though he definitely knows how to spell cat, he needs a visual aid here to do so. He also needs a simple visual aid to draw a cat, but even with an aid, he draws the parts in the wrong order. You can tell he's struggling to perform the task.

Here, absolutely overstimulated, I ask The Kid to draw a whale and write the word whale:

After 3 minutes of picking up the pencil and then putting it down again, with lots of echolalia, he makes an attempt. He needs a visual aid for both tasks. While he writes each letter in the correct order, their sequence is mostly random. He cannot draw at all in this state.

This is Executive Dysfunction. A symptom common in autism, and adhd.

A person with Executive Dysfunction is not making a decision not to do something (chores, homework, cooking, etc.) -- they genuinely cannot do the thing. At least not under certain circumstances, such as overstimulation or stress. They might require help and step by step guidance to get through it, or to abandon the task entirely until circumstances are more ideal.

This is a normal experience and not something to be punished for (by yourself or others). In fact punishment or the fear of punishment actually makes ED worse and more frequent. The only things that actually help the severity and frequency of Executive Dysfunction is patience and understanding.

This is also why functioning labels are outdated and inaccurate. You can go from 1 to 3 in the same day. Heck, the same hour if you're having A Time of It. For example, I go straight from 1 to 3, skipping 2 entirely when I look at road maps.

(Obligatory disclaimer: The Kid was not compelled to perform these tasks against his desire. I compiled these images over the course of summer break, when he requested the activity but wasn't always in a state to complete the activity. Then realized what a keen visual representation of ED this was, and that it could be helpful.)