Answer:
Option C: Spiral.
Explanation:
The three known shapes of galaxies are elliptical, spiral, and irregular.
Elliptical-shaped galaxies:
Elliptical-shaped galaxies do not have spiral arms—they appear round or flattened. Scientists and astronomers observed that elliptical-shaped galaxies lacked interstellar gas and dust that could have affected the formation of new stars.
Spiral galaxies:
The Milky Way Galaxy was discovered by a famous scientist, Galileo Galilei through his telescope in 1610. He saw that our galaxy comprised of innumerable dim stars. Astronomers later discovered that the Milky Way Galaxy is a disk that contains gas, dust, and about 200 billion stars.
Geller and Freedman (2019) state that the disk of Milky Way Galaxy spans about 160,000 light years, while the diameter of its central bulge measures about 6,500 light years. The Milky Way Galaxy’s shape resembles a pinwheel : its 4 spiral arms and 7 shorter segments (containing gas and dust) extend outward from its center. The astronomers also discovered that the Doppler Shifts in our galaxy explain its shape and disk rotation, as the stars, gas, and dust orbit around its center.
Irregular-shaped galaxies:
Irregular-shaped galaxies do not have a well-defined outline—astronomers typically categories galaxies as “irregular” or “asymmetrical” if they do not fit the description of being spiral or elliptical/round. Irregularly shaped galaxies also contain large amounts of interstellar matter.
Final Answer:
Given the descriptions provided regarding the Milky Way Galaxy, we can infer that the correct answer is Option C: spiral.
________________________
Keywords:
Milky Way Galaxy
Astronomy
Spiral-shaped galaxies
Elliptical galaxies
Irregular-shaped galaxies
____________________________
Learn more about this topic here:
https://brainly.com/question/13956361
