E0 is essentially a spherical galaxy. E7 is severely flattened oval shaped galaxy. The ellipticals come in vast array of different sizes. Masses range from , diameters from a few kpc to 1000 kpc, and luminosities from . These galaxies are generally gas poor and possess old red stars.
Spirals possess copious amounts of gas and also young stars, in contrast to the ellipticals.
These may have rather 'messy' appearances, or might even actually be spirals that have patchy brightnesses so that the spiral pattern is not distinguishable. Nearby irregular galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud Understanding Galaxy Types Two favored possibilities to understanding why there are spirals and ellipticals. If a cloud happens to rapidly form little clumps, these clumps might form stars before the big cloud can collapse to a flattened shape. The gas is used up and there is no new star formation. These are the ellipticals.