Galaxies

A galaxy is a large collection of stars, planetary systems, gas nebulae, dust clouds, dark matter and other astronomical objects with a total mass of typically 10 to the 9th (Billion) up to 10 to the 13th (quadrillion) solar masses bound by gravity. Their diameter can be several hundred thousand light years (Wikipedia).

A spiral galaxy is said to be edge-on when it is highly tilted with respect to our line of sight and is therefore seen "sideways".

A special case of a galaxy that appears edge-on is our Milky Way. Due to Earth's position close to the galactic plane, the galaxy appears as a bright band in side view. Since the earth is part of our Milky Way, this band also extends across the entire firmament.

Andromeda Galaxy, Messier 31 is the closest galaxy to our home galaxy, the Milky Way. It is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth and the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way, our home galaxy. The small galaxy below Andromeda to the left is Messier 110.
The Triangular Galaxy, Messier 33 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Triangle. It is the second brightest spiral galaxy in the northern night sky after the Andromeda galaxy.
Andromeda Galaxy, Messier 31 is the closest galaxy to our home galaxy, the Milky Way. It is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth and the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way, our home galaxy. The small galaxy below Andromeda to the left is Messier 110.
Galaxy NGC 147 on the left is a dwarf spherical galaxy about 2.58 Mly away in the constellation of Cassiopeia. NGC 147 is a member of the Local Group of galaxies and a satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). It forms a physical pair with the near right galaxy NGC 185, another distant satellite of M31.
Pinwheel Galaxy, Messier 101 is a face-on unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The galaxy is 21 million light-years away from us.
The Cocoon Galaxy ARP269 is an interacting galaxy pair with active star formation regions. The two galaxies are connected by a tidal arm. The center of NGC4490 consists of two separate structures - presumably as a result of a collision of two smaller star clusters. The pair of galaxies is surrounded by diffuse star clouds.
The Whirlpool Galaxy, Messier 51 lies in the constellation Canes Venatici.
NGC2841 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major in the northern sky.
Messier 81 or Bode's Galaxy and the right galaxy Messier 82 or Cigar Galaxy and lie in the constellation Ursa Major.
The Leo Triplet (also known as the M66 Group) is a small group of galaxies about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. This galaxy group consists of the spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628.
The spiral galaxy Messier 106 lies in the constellation Canes Venatici.
Abell 2151, Hercules Cluster, galaxy cluster 500 million light-years distant in the constellation Hercules
The Edge Galaxy NGC891 lies in the constellation Andromeda.
Edge-on-Galaxie NGC 891 and Abell 347 galaxy cluster
The Draco Triplet includes the galaxies NGC 5981, NGC 5982 and NGC 5985 in the constellation Draco.
NGC 7331 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Pegasus in the northern sky. The object was discovered on September 6, 1784 by the German-British astronomer Wilhelm Herschel.
Stephan's Quintet and NGC 7331 The Stephan's Quintet is in the constellation Pegasus. It is a visual grouping of five galaxies of which four are the first compact galaxy group ever discovered. The group is about 280 million light years from Earth.
Top right: Planetary nebulae "Owl Nebula, Messier 97" and Botton left: "Surfboard Galaxy Messier 108"
Cosmic NebulaeStar Clusters and Asterisms