What role do gravitational tidal forces play in the formation of irregular galaxies?
Answer
They pull stars and gas out of original orbits to warp and deform the galaxy shape.
Galactic shapes are not static and are heavily influenced by external forces like gravity. When two galaxies pass near each other, tidal forces act upon them, warping their shapes by pulling stars and gas clouds away from their established orbits. If a smaller galaxy interacts with a much larger one, it may be stretched, torn, and deformed rather than destroyed immediately. This interaction disrupts any previous structure, turning a once-orderly system into a chaotic, irregular galaxy, and in some instances, these galaxies represent remnants of collisions that have not yet stabilized.
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What is an Irregular Galaxy? - YouTube
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