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What is a galaxy , and what are the different types found in the Universe? Find out about galaxy formation and the history of their study. Galaxies consist of stars, planets, and vast clouds of gas and dust , all bound together by gravity. The largest contain trillions of stars and can be more than a million light-years across. The smallest can contain a few thousand stars and span just a few hundred light-years. A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. [1][2] The word is derived from the Greek galaxias (γαλαξίας), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. What Is a Galaxy? The Short Answer: A galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems , all held together by gravity. We live on a planet called Earth that is part of our solar system. But where is our solar system? It’s a small part of the Milky Way Galaxy.