Why Different Types of Galaxies May Affect the Development of Life
Humanity was able to form in our comfortable spiral galaxy — what if life tried to form in another type of galaxy?
Something that’s always fascinated me about the universe is why humanity was able to develop. Sure, there were a number of factors that worked in our favor, but was there anything more?
Rather than something rare on Earth, I began wondering about the rarities of the Milky Way. After some research, I found that recent studies actually overturned older beliefs regarding types of galaxies and the chances of life developing.
Prior to this year, the leading theory was that elliptical galaxies boasted the highest chance of developing life within them. However, current research seems to point that an elliptical galaxy has no higher chance than a spiral galaxy such as our own.
Before getting ahead of myself, though, let’s briefly go over the different kinds of galaxies that we know about:
Spiral: This is most likely the type of galaxy you are most familiar with, given you live in one right now. Characterized by young and hot stars, spiral galaxies make up over 70% of known galaxies in the universe. At the center of these galaxies are either a bulge or…
