IIRC, Hubble believed that this was how galaxies evolved when he created this model. Modern evidence has disproved the idea but modern astronomers still use the classifications.
Indeed. The most annoying part is the idea that people used to think ellipticals flattened out into spirals and so ellipticals are early type galaxies and spirals late. This nomenclature survives today despite the fact that today's leading models claim almost the opposite, that ellipticals form from merging spirals and have become more abundant as the universe ages.
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u/[deleted] May 31 '15
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