Galaxy Name Generator

How do astronomers come up with names for galaxies?

In order to keep track of the millions of galaxies that exist, astronomers have to come up with names for them. The most common way to do this is by using the Messier Catalogue, which was created by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1771. This catalogue contains 110 different galaxies, and each one is assigned a number. For example, the Andromeda Galaxy is also known as Messier 31 or M31.

Other common ways to name galaxies include using their coordinates in the sky, or using descriptive names based on their appearance. For example, the Sombrero Galaxy gets its name from its shape, which resembles a wide-brimmed hat. Meanwhile, the Cigar Galaxy earned its moniker due to its long and slender shape.

What exactly is a galaxy?

A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias (γαλαξίας), literally "milky", a reference to the Milky Way. Galaxies range in size from dwarfs with just a few hundred million (108) stars to giants with one trillion (1012) stars, each orbiting its galaxy's center of mass.

Most galaxies are organized into groups, clusters, and superclusters. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes about 54 galaxies, including the Andromeda Galaxy and about 44 other smaller galaxies. The Local Group forms part of the Virgo Supercluster, which includes more than 100 galaxy groups and clusters.

A history of galaxies

The existence of galaxies dates back billions of years, making them some of the most amazing objects in the universe. It began with the Big Bang, a time of rapid expansion from a single point in time, when the universe was formed. In the early stages of stars, planets, and galaxies, matter began to clump together as the universe expanded. These galaxies underwent a variety of transformations over the subsequent years, including mergers, expansion, and even destruction. Astronomers employ instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope to investigate the past of a galaxy. Astronomers can look back billions of years to determine when galaxies formed because of its expansive view. They have discovered that galaxies formed relatively recently, just billions of years after the Big Bang. Stars and planets formed within these galaxies, which were likely spherical and disk-shaped masses of gas and dust. The galaxies grew in size and shape over billions of years. They began to interact with one another as they formed massive clusters, resulting in interactions and mergers. Galaxies collided with one another during these events, exchanging gas and dust particles for larger galaxies known as elliptical galaxies. Spiral galaxies, which continue to be the most aesthetically pleasing shape despite being the result of more complex collisions, were also formed as a result of these collisions. In addition, these galaxies contain more intricate structures within themselves, with arms of matter, gas, and stars writhing around their centers. In the hope of comprehending their formation and history, astronomers continue to observe galaxies and investigate their behavior today. All of the galaxies we see today may have been shaped by billions of years of interactions between them, according to research. Scientists can hopefully continue to be awestruck by the beauty of these celestial bodies by diligently studying them.

5 questions to help you come up with galaxy names

1. What shapes or objects come to mind when you think of galaxies?
2. What kind of mythology, literature, or culture do you take inspiration from?
3. What kinds of colors do you imagine when thinking of galaxies?
4. What kind of adjectives would you use to describe a galaxy?
5. Are there any galaxies from fiction or popular culture that you'd like to incorporate?

Can I use the random galaxy names that this tool creates?

Yes you can. The Story Shack claims no copyright on any of these names, but it is of course possible that some of the values this name generator provides are already owned by anyone else, so please make sure to always do your due diligence.

How many ideas can I generate with this Galaxy Name Generator?

The Galaxy Name Generator can generate thousands of ideas for your project, so feel free to keep clicking and at the end use the handy copy feature to export your galaxy names to a text editor of your choice. Enjoy!

What are good galaxy names?

There's thousands of random galaxy names in this generator. Here are some samples to start:

More on galaxy names across the web

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