Peculiar velocity

Okay kiddo, you know how we move in a car or on a bike when we want to go somewhere? Stars and galaxies also move around, but they have a special way of moving called peculiar velocity.

Peculiar velocity is how stars and galaxies move through space besides their regular speed. It’s like when you swirl around the playground before going down the slide. It’s a little extra movement on top of going forward or backward.

Sometimes, peculiar velocity can help us understand how far away things are in space. Just like we can tell how far away a sound is if we hear it coming from a certain direction, telescopes can detect the movement of stars and galaxies, which can tell us how far away they are from us.

So, peculiar velocity is like a secret extra movement that stars and galaxies do as they move through space, and it can help us understand how far away things are from us. Pretty cool, right?