What process might cause a spiral galaxy to eventually become an elliptical galaxy?
Answer
A merger with another galaxy
Galactic evolution can lead to changing classifications over billions of years. When two spiral galaxies collide, the gravitational interaction disrupts the existing structure, merging them into a new system. This violent process typically consumes the available gas and destroys the organized disk structure, causing the remnant to settle into a featureless, elliptical form.
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Types of Galaxies in Space - Spiral, Elliptical, Irregular plus more
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