A type of galaxy that contains mostly old stars and little dust or gas and is shaped from nearly spherical to highly elliptical. Unlike spiral galaxies that are flat shaped and exhibit much structure, elliptical galaxies are more 3-dimensionally shaped with little structure. Their stars orbit somewhat randomly around the galaxy centre.
Elliptical galaxies are common in the Universe but aren't the dominant form of galaxy. They are believed to make up approx. 10-15% of galaxies in the Virgo Supercluster. Examples include, M87, M60, M105, IC 1101, Maffei 1 and M32.
