SUMMARY: Most large galaxies have the familiar spiral shaped disc surrounding a central bulge. But when and how do these galaxies take on their characteristic shape? New observations from the European Space Agency surveying 195 galaxies have given astronomers some clues. They've theorized that large galaxies go through a process called "spiral galaxy rebuilding", where galaxies collide, merge, and then begin a period of furious star formation. Part of the gas that didn't fall in rebuilds a disc around the galactic core creating a new spiral galaxy. This process could be repeated many times, building up the galaxy over billions of years.

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