Difference Between Galaxy and Universe

July 2022 · 5 minute read

Humans have made scientific discoveries endless in all fields of science, be it physics, biology, or chemistry, with all subcategories of science.

Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity to Thomas Alva Edison’s discovery of the light bulb, but human discovery is never limited to the earth. Still, we even reached the boundary of our space and made all the science possible.

The universe is all the space that contains all the Galaxy, dark matter, and synthetic time fields, sometimes places that are even beyond the reach of humans. And many other lives exist in the universe that humans haven’t discovered; Galaxy contains all the solar systems, stars, and black holes; many of these terms are used interchangeably. Still, there’s a vast difference between both.

Galaxy vs Universe

The main difference between the Galaxy and Universe is that Galaxies come in different shapes, sizes and differ from the gravitational pull. There is not only one galaxy. There are 1000s of a galaxy consisting of solar systems and planets. In contrast, the Universe is all the space that consists of all the galaxy within itself, trillions of stars, black holes.

Earth, our home planet, is a part of the Milkyway galaxy, one solar system and millions of stars, but the milky way, along with all its content, is a part of the Universe that is the ultimate space consisting of all the matter.

Comparison Table Between Galaxy and Universe

Parameters of ComparisonGalaxyUniverse
MeaningIt is a small part of Universe that consists of solar system along with all the planets and millions of starsIt is all the space that consists of all the galaxy in the space along with all stars.
Different FormsGalaxy comes in different shapes and sizesUniverse is the only space which is indefinite in shape
QuantityThere are more than 2 trillion galaxies according to 2020 researchUniverse is all the galaxy, galaxy is the part of universe
Possibility of ExpansionThe galaxies never expand and they are in a definite shapeUniverse keeps on expanding with many factors like heat and continues to expand
FormationThe galaxy was formed when free clouds consisting of other stars collided with each other and formed a gravitational pull leading to the formationThe universe was formed with the busting of space itself called The Big Bang, the space expanded at a very high temperature but it cooled down leading to the formation
Age13.5 billion13.8 billion  

What is a Galaxy?

A galaxy is a gravitational bond between different stars, gases, dust, and dark matter. The galaxy is more than 13.5 billion years old and consists of our solar system in which the earth is present. The universe has more than 1000 solar system that has not been even discovered by humans.  A galaxy contains trillions of stars within it. There are more than 2 trillion galaxies in the universe that comes in different shapes and sizes.

 The milky way is a galaxy that consists of a solar system. The Milky Way galaxy hasn’t been discovered, making it very difficult to find the other galaxies. It is found that all galaxies contain supermassive black holes. A black hole is a place with time and gravity time stops, and gravity increases to another extent. The sun, which is the biggest star in our solar system, is one of the trillion stars in our Milky Way.

there are more than two-thirds of galaxies are spiral galaxies, which is flat and is a spinning disc in the center. The second category is elliptical galaxies that are round and can stretch a longer to is an axis. The third category is a lunatic galaxy. 4th galaxy is the irregular galaxy that doesn’t even have a definite shape or size universe is never expanding. They are in actual condition and proposition. The galaxy was formed when different stardust clouds collided, creating a strong gravitational pull between themselves, leading to a universe.

What is Universe?

The universe is more than 13.8 billion years old, formed when space itself got busted, leading to the very high-temperature formation and cooling down of the universe. This phenomenon was known as the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang theory leading to the formation of the universe and ultimately lead to the formation of every star, galaxy, planet, and solar system.

Cosmos is a place that consists of all the dark matter, principles, and galaxies. The universe keeps on expanding due to very high pressure and heat. The age of the universe is 13.8 billion years was calculated by measuring the age of the oldest stars that are present in the universe with many other factors like the gravitational pull that holds the universe intact. A modern Jetfighter will take more than a million years to reach the nearest star. If it were traveling at 3 lakh kilometers per second, it would take at least 100000 years only to cross the Milky way galaxy. making it impossible to reach another galaxy.

Studying the universe with modern technological reforms and telescopes is not easy and possible; many discoveries would take more than 1000 years for humanity only to discover the Milky way galaxy.

Main Differences Between Galaxy and Universe

  • The galaxy is present in different shapes and sizes, but the universe is one and consists of all the galaxy.
  • The universe was formed when space itself burst, leading to very high-temperature expansion and ultimately cooling down. In contrast, the galaxy was formed when the free clouds and stars collided, leading to a strong gravitational pull between them and leading to the formation.
  • The universe is more than 13.8 billion years old, whereas the galaxy is more than 13.5 years old.
  • The galaxy is in a definite shape and size, and there is no scope for expansion, whereas the universe does not have a profile and size, and it keeps on expanding due to high pressure and heat.
  • Conclusion

    There’s a vast difference between a galaxy and a universe. The galaxy consists of all the solar systems, stars and planets, and galaxy in different shapes. The universe is all the space where all the galaxy and other matter are current; all the galaxy value is indirectly a part of the universe.

    Humans have expanded the discovery to even space boundaries. Still, till now, we can only discover our solar system, and it is not possible to find the milky way galaxy with the present technology and satellites.

    Reference

    https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/appliedmechanicsreviews/article-abstract/49/5/299/401018

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