Make Your Own Galaxy

Introduction: The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a universe full of galaxies, and stunning detailed structures within nearby galaxies. A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars, gas, and dust. They range in size from a few thousand light years to a few hundred thousand light-years in diameter for the luminous matter. In this activity, you will apply mathematical concepts of scale to make a model of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. You will use your model and data to elaborate on the question: do galaxies collide?