ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Bulge (astronomy)

The bulge in astronomy is like a big bump or hump in the center of a galaxy. It's kind of like a giant knot of stars that are all clumped together. Imagine if you took a bunch of toy stars and glued them all in one spot, that would be a bit like what the bulge looks like.

The bulge is an important part of a galaxy because it tells us a lot about how the galaxy formed and evolved over time. Scientists think that the bulge formed early on in a galaxy's life, when a whole bunch of stars collided and merged together. Over time, more and more stars were added to the bulge as the galaxy evolved.

The bulge is also important because it helps hold the galaxy together. You see, all of the stars in a galaxy are orbiting around a central point, which is usually in the bulge. Without the bulge, the stars would just fly off in all directions and the galaxy would fall apart.

So, to sum it up, the bulge is like a big clump of stars in the center of a galaxy that helps hold the galaxy together and gives us clues about how the galaxy formed and evolved over time.