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A flocculent spiral galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy. Unlike the well-defined spiral architecture of a grand design spiral galaxy, flocculent galaxies are patchy, with discontinuous spiral arms. Self-propagating star formation is the apparent explanation for the structure of flocculent spirals. Approximately 30% of spirals are flocculent, 10% are grand design, and the rest are referred to as "multi-armed". The multiple-arm type is sometimes grouped into the flocculent category.
The prototypical flocculent spiral is NGC 2841.
Patchy galaxy with discontinuous spiral arms
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