Magellanic spiral

English

Etymology

From the pattern found in the prototype of the class, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a type-1 irregular galaxy with a spiral structure having one arm. Named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

Noun

Magellanic spiral (plural Magellanic spirals)

  1. (astronomy) A type of galaxy, a spiral galaxy with one arm. Also consider a type of irregular galaxy. Usually, such spirals are a dwarf galaxy.

Synonyms

  • Magellanic spiral galaxy
  • Sm

Hypernyms

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