Science Common Sense

575 - What are galaxies, and how many are there in the universe?

Imagine you're looking up at a big, sparkling night sky. You see lots of tiny stars, right? A galaxy is like a huge collection of those stars and other things like gas and dust, all stuck together by gravity.

Our galaxy is called the Milky Way, and it's home to our solar system. But there are lots and lots of other galaxies in the universe, too. Scientists think there might be around 100 to 200 billion galaxies in the whole universe. That's a really, really big number.

Each galaxy is like its own separate team of stars, and they can be different shapes and sizes. Some are big and spiral-shaped, while others are small and round. The universe is full of these galaxies, and scientists are still learning more about them.