Milky Way - Wikipedia
WEBThe Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy are a binary system of giant spiral galaxies belonging to a group of 50 closely bound galaxies known as the Local Group, surrounded by a Local Void, itself being part of the Local Sheet [268] and in turn the Virgo Supercluster.
Milky Way Galaxy | Size, Definition, & Facts | Britannica
WEBSep 14, 2024 · Milky Way Galaxy (sometimes simply called the Galaxy), large spiral system of about several hundred billion stars, one of which is the Sun. It takes its name from the Milky Way, the irregular luminous band of stars and gas clouds that stretches across the sky as seen from Earth.
Milky Way galaxy: Facts about our cosmic neighborhood | Space
WEBApr 18, 2023 · The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy around 13.6 billion years old with large pivoting arms stretching out across the cosmos. Milky Way quick facts: – Galaxy type: Barred spiral – Age:...
The Milky Way Galaxy - NASA Science
WEBNov 8, 2017 · Using infrared images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists have discovered that the Milky Way's elegant spiral structure is dominated by just two arms wrapping off the ends of a central bar of stars. Previously, our galaxy was thought to possess four major arms.
The Milky Way Galaxy - Harvard–Smithsonian Center for …
WEBToday, astronomers study the Milky Way to understand its history, structure, contents, and our place in the galaxy. Like most other large galaxies, the Milky Way harbors a supermassive black hole at its center. Known as Sagittarius A* — abbreviated as Sgr A* — this galaxy is about four million times the mass of the Sun.
What is the Milky Way? It’s our home galaxy - EarthSky
WEBJan 1, 2024 · Both refer to our home galaxy, our local island in the vast ocean of the universe, composed of hundreds of billions of stars, one of which is our sun. Long ago, it was possible for everybody in...
Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way - Wikipedia
WEBThe Milky Way has several smaller galaxies gravitationally bound to it, as part of the Milky Way subgroup, which is part of the local galaxy cluster, the Local Group. [1]There are 61 small galaxies confirmed to be within 420 kiloparsecs (1.4 million light-years) of the Milky Way, [2] but not all of them are necessarily in orbit, and some may themselves be in orbit of other satellite galaxies.
The Milky Way Galaxy - Imagine the Universe!
WEBSep 23, 2021 · The Milky Way Galaxy. Our Sun (a star) and all the planets around it are part of a galaxy known as the Milky Way Galaxy. A galaxy is a large group of stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
The Milky Way: Earth’s home galaxy | Astronomy.com
WEBAug 2, 2019 · our galaxy’s spiral structure. The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) ranks among the Milky Way’s biggest stellar nurseries. It lies about 7,500 light-years from Earth and burst to life when its first...
Structure and composition of the Milky Way Galaxy | Britannica
WEBMilky Way Galaxy, Large spiral galaxy (roughly 150,000 light-years in diameter) that contains Earth’s solar system. It includes the multitude of stars whose light is seen as the Milky Way, the irregular luminous band that encircles the sky, defining the plane of …
- Some results have been removed