ASTROPHYSICS
Can a galaxy ever split apart into multiple galaxies?
Galaxies are held together by gravity
The quick answer is no! The quick reason why is because gravity sticks them together so strongly they would be impossible to tear apart. The explanation comes down to gravity. Most big things in the universe – like planets, stars and galaxies – are held together by gravity. Earth stays together because the atoms that make up our planet all pull towards each other, and pulling them apart would take energy. If you were a supervillain who wanted to destroy the Earth, you’d need to put in enough energy to overcome that gravitational attraction. The amount of energy that you’d need to use to pull something apart is called the gravitational binding energy.