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Hubble Looks at a Late-type Galaxy [1]

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Date: 2023-12

The terminology “late-type” refers to spiral and irregular galaxies, while “early-type” refers to elliptical galaxies. This rather confusing terminology has led to a common misconception within the astronomy community. It is still quite widely believed that Edwin Hubble inaccurately thought that elliptical galaxies were the evolutionary precursors to spiral and irregular galaxies, and that that is the reason why ellipticals are classed as early-type and spirals and irregulars are classed as late-type. This misconception is due to the Hubble tuning fork of galactic classification, which visually shows galaxy types proceeding from elliptical to spiral, in a sequence that could easily be interpreted as a temporal evolution. However, Hubble actually adopted the terms early-type and late-type from much older astronomical terminology for stellar classifications, and did not mean to state that ellipticals were literally evolutionary precursors to spiral and irregular galaxies. In fact, he explicitly said in a 1927 paper that “the nomenclature … [early and late] … refers to position in the sequence, and temporal connotations are made at one’s peril.”

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[1] Url: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-looks-at-a-late-type-galaxy/

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