Humans have made endless scientific discoveries in all fields of science, be it physics, biology, or chemistry, with all subcategories of science.
Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity to Thomas Alva Edison’s discovery of the light bulb, but human discovery is never limited to the earth. Still, we even reached the boundary of our space and made all the science possible.
The universe is all the space that contains all the Galaxy, dark matter, and synthetic time fields, sometimes places that are even beyond the reach of humans.
And many other lives exist in the universe humans haven’t discovered; Galaxy contains all the solar systems, stars, and black holes; many of these terms are used interchangeably.
Still, there’s a vast difference between both.
Key Takeaways
- A galaxy is a large system of stars, dust, and gas held together by gravity, while the universe is the totality of all matter, energy, and space.
- There are billions of galaxies in the universe, and each has its unique properties, including size, shape, and number of stars, while the universe is believed to be infinite in size and scope.
- The Milky Way is a galaxy in which our solar system resides. At the same time, the universe comprises all the galaxies, including the Milky Way, and all the other celestial bodies, such as planets, asteroids, comets, and black holes.
Galaxy vs Universe
A galaxy is a vast system of stars, gas, dust, and other celestial objects bound together by gravity. The universe is everything that exists, including all matter, energy, and space, and is vast and contains billions of galaxies, each of which contains billions of stars.
Earth, our home planet, is a part of the Milkyway galaxy, one solar system and millions of stars, but the milky way, along with all its content, is a part of the Universe, the ultimate space consisting of all matter.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Galaxy | Universe |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | It is a small part of the Universe that consists of the solar system, all the planets, and millions of stars. | It is all the space that consists of all the galaxies in space, along with all-stars. |
| Different Forms | Galaxy comes in different shapes and sizes | The universe is the only space which is indefinite in shape |
| Quantity | There are more than 2 trillion galaxies, according to 2020 research | The universe is all the galaxy, the galaxy is part of the universe |
| Possibility of Expansion | The galaxies never expand, and they are in a definite shape | The universe keeps on expanding with many factors like heat and continues to expand |
| Formation | The galaxy was formed when free clouds consisting of other stars collided with each other and formed a gravitational pull leading to the formation | The universe was formed with the busting of space itself called The Big Bang, the space expanded at a very high temperature, but it cooled down, leading to the formation |
| Age | 13.5 billion | 13.8 billion |
What is a Galaxy?
A galaxy is a gravitational bond between stars, gases, dust, and dark matter. The galaxy is more than 13.5 billion years old and consists of our solar system in which the earth is present.
The universe has more than 1000 solar systems that humans have not even discovered. A galaxy contains trillions of stars within it.
More than 2 trillion galaxies in the universe come in different shapes and sizes.
The milky way is a galaxy that consists of a solar system. The Milky Way galaxy hasn’t been discovered, making it difficult to find the other galaxies.
It is found that all galaxies contain supermassive black holes. A black hole is a place with time and gravity time stops, and gravity increases to another extent.
The sun, the biggest star in our solar system, is one of the trillion stars in our Milky Way.
More than two-thirds of galaxies are spiral galaxies, which are flat and are a spinning disc in the centre. The second category is round elliptical galaxies that can stretch a longer to an axis.
The third category is a lunatic galaxy. The 4th galaxy is an irregular galaxy that doesn’t even have a definite shape or size; the universe is never expanding. They are in actual condition and proposition.
The galaxy was formed when different stardust clouds collided, creating a strong gravitational pull between themselves, leading to a universe.
What is Universe?
The universe is more than 13.8 billion years old, formed when space itself got busted, leading to the universe’s very high-temperature formation and cooling down.
This phenomenon was known as the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang theory led to the formation of the universe and ultimately led to the formation of every star, galaxy, planet, and solar system.
Cosmos is a place that consists of all the dark matter, principles, and galaxies. The universe keeps on expanding due to very high pressure and heat.
The universe’s age is 13.8 billion years and was calculated by measuring the age of the oldest stars present with many other factors, like the gravitational pull that holds the universe intact.
A modern Jetfighter will take over a million years to reach the nearest star. If it travelled at 3 lakh kilometres per second, it would take at least 100000 years to cross the Milky Way galaxy.
Making it impossible to reach another galaxy.
Studying the universe with modern technological reforms and telescopes is not easy and possible; many discoveries would take more than 1000 years for humanity only to discover the Milky Way galaxy.
Main Differences Between Galaxy and Universe
- The galaxy is present in different shapes and sizes, but the universe is one and consists of all the galaxies.
- The universe was formed when space burst, leading to very high-temperature expansion and ultimately cooling down. In contrast, the galaxy was formed when the free clouds and stars collided, leading to a strong gravitational pull between them and leading to the formation.
- The universe is more than 13.8 billion years old, whereas the galaxy is more than 13.5 years old.
- The galaxy is in a definite shape and size, and there is no scope for expansion, whereas the universe does not have a profile and size and keeps expanding due to high pressure and heat.
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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