Final answer:
Galaxies are diverse in shape, ranging from flat spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, which has a spiral structure outlined by blue light of hot stars, to elliptical galaxies that can resemble a football. Black holes can also distort stars into a football shape. Overall, galaxies contribute to the vast three-dimensional web of the universe.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question pertains to a type of three-dimensional galaxies that are shaped like a football. In astronomy, galaxies come in various shapes and sizes, some of which are spiral galaxies with a flattened rotating disk and pinwheel-like arms which our Milky Way Galaxy resembles.
However, when a star gets too close to a black hole, it can be stretched into a football-like shape during the process known as spaghettification. This is due to the intense gravitational forces of the black hole distorting the star's shape as depicted in artistic impressions like Figure 27.17.
Galaxies can sometimes appear to be elliptical, resembling the shape of a blimp or a cigar. These elliptical galaxies are one of the two basic shapes of the largest and most luminous galaxies in the universe.
Overall, galaxies are part of larger structures in the universe such as superclusters and filaments, mapping out a frothy, foam-like pattern across the cosmos. Galaxies pull on each other and coalesce into groups, which creates the complex three-dimensional cosmic web we observe.