Spiral Galaxies
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lmb5775
- Asternaut
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- Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 1:36 pm
Spiral Galaxies
Do all galaxy spiral arms flow counter clockwise toward the center?
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RJN
- Baffled Boffin
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- Location: Michigan Tech
Re: Galaxies
Good question, but no. Here are some links that describe some recent findings in this, um, direction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_4622
http://astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=6478
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_4622
http://astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=6478
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rstevenson
- Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
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- Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Re: Galaxies
No. 
Imagine a galaxy that has a spiral-in-to-the-left kind of look. Now flip that galaxy over (carefully!). Now it looks like it's sprialling in to the right. And when you figure that the way galaxies appear to us is entirely random, you have to conclude that there is no set pattern to such spirals.
Rob
Oops! RJN got there first.
Imagine a galaxy that has a spiral-in-to-the-left kind of look. Now flip that galaxy over (carefully!). Now it looks like it's sprialling in to the right. And when you figure that the way galaxies appear to us is entirely random, you have to conclude that there is no set pattern to such spirals.
Rob
Oops! RJN got there first.
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bystander
- Apathetic Retiree
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- Location: Oklahoma
Re: Galaxies
Here's a previous discussion on the topic: Spiral Galaxies.