The scientists based their galaxy head count on deep-space surveys already conducted by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The scientists based their galaxy head count on deep-space surveys already conducted by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Thought the universe was crowded with 100 billion to 200 billion galaxies Try 1 trillion or even 2 trillion galaxies and more.
That's the latest census, reported Thursday.
An astrophysics professor at the University of Nottingham in England led the international team that came up with the mind-boggling estimate of 2 trillion galaxies in the universe. Professor Christopher Conselice said that represents a minimum tenfold increase.
In a phone interview, Conselice said he was surprised by the results. He anticipated two or three times more galaxies, perhaps, but -"10 is quite high-" and it could prove to be even greater.
The scientists based their galaxy head count on deep-space surveys already conducted by the Hubble Space Telescope and ground observatories. They turned the images into 3-D and used new mathematical models for the update.
-"It boggles the mind that over 90 per cent of the galaxies in the universe have yet to be studied,-" Conselice said in a statement. -"Who knows what interesting properties we will find when we discover these galaxies with future generations of telescopes -"
Even scientists have trouble wrapping their minds around such huge numbers. According to Conselice, 2 trillion is roughly equivalent to the number of seconds in 1,000 average lifetimes.
The findings are being reported in Astrophysical Journal.
