Warped Spiral Galaxy ESO 510 13 . ... Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA ), NASA Explanation: How did spiral galaxy ESO 510-13 get bent out of shape? The disks of many spirals are thin and flat , but not solid. Spiral disks are loose conglomerations of billions of stars and diffuse gas all gravitationally orbiting a galaxy center. A flat disk is thought to be created by sticky collisions of large gas clouds early in the galaxy's formation . ... NASA Official: Jay Norris. ...