h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Mmmmmm! I love galaxies! My career goal is to study Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Last semseter, when we discussed them in class, all I remember (other than the material, of course!) is blissing out and knowing I was in celestial heaven!

The coolest thing about them are the jets of expelled matter. Those are what interest me the most. It's amazing to picture the relative scale of the jets to the galaxy. They can jettison for hundreds upon thousands of light-years, perhaps even millions, way beyond the boundary of the host galaxy. The interesting thing about them is that it is a mystery as to what actually causes them to form. It could be due to electromagnetic fields, conservation of angular momentum, or an extreme accleration due to gravity from the supermassive black hole.

Another interesting thing about galaxies is that they form only in certain areas, leaving huge voids with nothing in them. On a inconcievably large scale, one can see filaments and strings of galaxies. How did they get to be that way? Another mystery... It has to do with the way galaxies first formed, and it could correspond with tiny temperature/matter fluctuations in the early universe. Fascinating.

I think that's all I have for now. But I may revisit this topic...

By the way, the Editor did an excellent job describing galaxies!