A flocculent spiral galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy. Unlike the well-defined spiral architecture of a grand design spiral galaxy, flocculent (meaning "flaky") galaxies are patchy, with discontinuous spiral arms. [1] [2] Self-propagating star formation is the apparent explanation for the structure of flocculent spirals. [3] Approximately 30% of spirals are flocculent, 10% are grand design, and the rest are referred to as "multi-armed". [4] The multiple-arm type is sometimes grouped into the flocculent category. [5]
The prototypical flocculent spiral is NGC 2841. [6]
Example | Class | Image | Constellation | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
NGC 1325 | SBbc | Eridanus | ||
NGC 1353 | SBb | Eridanus | ||
NGC 2775 | SA( r)ab | Cancer | [7] | |
NGC 2841 | SA( r)b | Ursa Major | [6] | |
NGC 3521 | SAB( r s)bc | Leo | [6] | |
NGC 4298 | SA( r s)c | Coma Berenices | ||
NGC 4414 | SA( r s)c | Coma Berenices | [8] | |
NGC 7793 | SA( s)d | Sculptor | [6] | |
Sunflower Galaxy (Messier 63) |
SAB( r s)cd | Canes Venatici | [9] |