Flocculent spiral galaxy

NGC 2775, a prominent flocculent spiral galaxy

A flocculent spiral galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy. Unlike the well-defined spiral architecture of a grand design spiral galaxy, flocculent (meaning "flaky") galaxies are patchy, with discontinuous spiral arms.[1][2] Self-propagating star formation is the apparent explanation for the structure of flocculent spirals.[3] Approximately 30% of spirals are flocculent, 10% are grand design, and the rest are referred to as "multi-armed".[4] The multiple-arm type is sometimes grouped into the flocculent category.[5]

The prototypical flocculent spiral is NGC 2841.[6]

  1. ^ COSMOS – SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy, "Grand Design Spiral" (Retrieved 23 April 2010)
  2. ^ COSMOS – SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy, "Flocculent Spiral" (Retrieved 23 April 2010)
  3. ^ Masters, Karen (September 2002), What is the Origin of Spiral Structure in Galaxies, archived from the original on 9 June 2007, retrieved 30 May 2007
  4. ^ Case Western Reserve University, Chris Mihos, ASTR222 – Spring 2008, "Spiral Structure" (Retrieved 23 April 2010)
  5. ^ University of Virginia, Mark Whittle, ASTR 553/554 : Extragalactic Astronomy (2007), "Lecture 5: Spiral Galaxies" Archived 7 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 23 April 2010)
  6. ^ "A Near-Infrared Atlas of Spiral Galaxies", Debra Meloy Elmegreen, "CH3. Discussion" (Retrieved 23 April 2010)