Galaxy

:This article is about celestial bodies. For alternate meanings, see galaxy (disambiguation).

Etymology

The word galaxy was derived from the Greek term for our own galaxy, kyklos galaktikos meaning "milky circle" for the system?s appearance in the sky. When astronomers speculated that certain objects previously classified as spiral nebulae were actually vast congeries of stars, this was called the "island universe theory"; but this was an obvious misnomer, since universe means everything there is. Consequently, this term fell into disuse, replaced by applying the term galaxy generically to all such bodies.

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