Everything in space revolves around a central mass. Moons around planets; planets around stars; stars around super massive black holes in the center of galaxies. Why don't galaxies revolve around something?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Skins2881,

I'll be watching this thread!

I think it has something to do with the flux capacitor.

Galaxies orbit each other.

Thanks. Now my brain hurts.

The center of spiral galaxies are supposed to have Super Massive Black Holes (at least according to MUSE). There are several types of galaxies that work in completely different ways.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Why don't galaxies rotate around something?

Why does the cream in my coffee swirl around in a rotation without rotating around something?

If the matter (gas, mostly, in the case of galaxies) starts rotating as it moves through space, it will tend to continue to rotate. Smaller currents and eddies within the larger rotation will tend to result in the gas and particles concentrating due to gravity and forming stars and their surrounding planets. The rotation in those cases begins before the matter concentrates enough to form sold or semisolid (gaseous) bodies.

Yahweh has it all in control as HE sits on His throne and we are amazed at His handiwork.

I dunno.

But I do know that I like and recommend www.spaceweatherwoman.com

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
Galaxies orbit each other.

Andromeda and milky way are/will and dwarf ones do around milky way. I get that. It just seems puzzling that there is no step above a galaxy that galaxies rotate around.

The only thing I can think of is the distance between stuff exceeds gravity's reach.

I could tell you, but... you know...

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
Galaxies orbit each other.

I thought they were all expanding outward. You know, because the universe is expanding.

I haven't stayed as up to date on astrophysics as I would like to have, but in partial answer to your question:

Galaxies, like all other objects with mass are affected by the center-of-gravity of the "universe" as it is known. The last I knew, the scientists weren't sure if there was enough mass accounted for in the galactic model. What this means is that without enough mass, the universe won't start rotating around a common center and ultimately contract/collapse back into a supermassive black hole. Without the "missing mass" the individual galxies will just continue to expand outward but their trajectories are directed by the gravitation of the mass of the universe.

The movement of objects the scientists can see is how they deduce the presence of massive objects they can't see.

The ultimate fate of the universe is theorectical. Either it diffuses and goes cold or it all collapses back seem to be the two choices.

Ken

Imagine the universe existing as the skin of an expanding balloon with everything existing in the known universe within that skin.

At the center of that balloon would be point zero where the big bang originated. One could say the galaxies are "revolving" around that point. But since the momentum is away from that central point, there really isn't much "revolving" around by the galaxies.

Any revolving around by galaxies would be around each other when their gravitational fields are interacting and they're not on a collision course.

At least, that's the way it is in my universe.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
It just seems puzzling that there is no step above a galaxy that galaxies rotate around.

But there are. There are galaxy clusters that involve galaxies moving around the literal gravitational center of the cluster. They may not all be in a clearly-defined plane like spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way (ours), but they still have a gravitational center that’s due to the gravitational pull created by the galaxies and any unassociated matter in the area. There are also “super” clusters (as I recall) that involve several clusters rotating around a gravitational center.

And as for the balloon analogy, it’s confusing (at least to me), because it’s not really like a balloon that has an interior center. All the mass of the universe is on the surface of the balloon, with nothing inside. That means there is no central point, just as there’s no central point on the surface of a balloon, basketball, etc. That’s why on the grand scale (ignoring tiny sections like star systems, galaxies, clusters, etc.) everything is moving away from everything else. Just as when a balloon is inflated, every point on the surface of the balloon moves away from every other point.

The answer is somewhere in the Time Cube

Many Galaxies exist in "Clusters" and they tend to revolve around the center of that. The Clusters also are part of larger aggregates, which are known as "Super Attractors".

flashguy

Good question.

Not every space object orbits something else. There are objects on parabolic courses. Such as, the deep space probes that will leave our solar system and never return. They don't orbit anything. They have an origin and a heading, and will keep going into space for eternity.

My theory is that the galaxies are on parabolic courses, originating from the big bang (or whatever mechanism God used to create the universe). Therefore, they don't revolve around anything, either. They just keep moving outward.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Many Galaxies exist in "Clusters" and they tend to revolve around the center of that. The Clusters also are part of larger aggregates, which are known as "Super Attractors".

flashguy

OK, I think I see. We are part of what is called the 'local group' of galaxies, a super cluster, if you will, that is 'attracted', as flashguy would say, to the center of the Virgo Super Cluster. I think.

My books on the topic are all quite dated, but I'm going the get to the bottom of this yet!

H&K-Guy

I thought at the center of many galaxies was a black hole?

Galaxies go up and down like yo-yos. Ask God.