Galaxy disks as a research area focuses on the structure, dynamics, formation, and evolution of the flattened, rotationally supported components of galaxies, particularly spiral and lenticular systems. Studies address stellar and gas kinematics, angular momentum distribution, and the interplay between baryons and dark matter in shaping disk profiles (e.g., exponential or broken-exponential). The field investigates disk instabilities, spiral arms, bars, secular evolution, star formation regulation, radial migration, and vertical thickening, often using multiwavelength observations, integral-field spectroscopy, and cosmological simulations. Galaxy disk research is central to constraining galaxy assembly histories, feedback processes, and the coupling between galactic disks, halos, and their broader cosmological environment.
Amina Helmi's passion for the Milky Way is clear as soon as one steps into her small office at the University of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands.
Astronomy
Jul 30, 2026
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A new study using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope finds that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years. Andromeda, ...
Astronomy
Jul 27, 2026
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The Whirlpool galaxy (M51) is a classic grand spiral galaxy. It was the first object identified as a spiral, way back in 1845. At the time, it and other galaxies were considered spiral nebulae, since astronomers didn't know ...
Astronomy
Jul 22, 2026
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The Milky Way may have undergone a dramatic change in orientation during its history, according to new research that helps explain a long-standing mystery about our galaxy. Using supercomputer simulations of galaxies like ...
Astronomy
Jul 21, 2026
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Peak star formation took place during cosmic noon, between 2–3 billion years after the Big Bang. The star formation rate (SFR) back then was up to 100 times greater than it is today. For the SFR to be so high, gas had to ...
Astronomy
Jul 15, 2026
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Astronomers at Durham University have made a major advance in understanding how galaxies formed and evolved in the early universe. Using powerful new observations, the team discovered the most distant example ever found of ...
Astronomy
Jul 14, 2026
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No matter the time or vantage point, from a pre-Neolithic cave to a post-lockdown London high-rise, the predictability of the night sky has always been humanity's symbol of permanence and reassuring stability.
Astronomy
Jun 10, 2026
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A new study led by researchers at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) reveals how the disks of galaxies like the Milky Way are affected ...
Astronomy
May 18, 2026
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Billions of years ago, a young spiral galaxy began to grow in a crowded part of the universe. It pulled in gas and small companion galaxies, slowly building up the bright central region and sweeping spiral arms we see today.
Astronomy
May 14, 2026
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Astronomers who simulate galaxies do not always get the same result, even when they start from identical conditions. New research from Leiden University shows that this is not a flaw, but a consequence of how galaxies behave—and ...
Astronomy
May 11, 2026
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