Milky Way - Wikipedia
The Milky Way [c] is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.
Milky Way Galaxy | Size, Definition, & Facts | Britannica
3 days ago · 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
Apr 18, 2023 · The Milky Way galaxy is our cosmic home. A barred spiral galaxy stretching 100,000 light-years across. Here we explore our galactic neighborhood in more detail.
What is the Milky Way? It’s our home galaxy - EarthSky
Jan 1, 2024 · Do you think of the Milky Way as a starry band across a dark night sky? Or do you think of it as a great spiral galaxy in space? Both are correct. Both refer to our home galaxy, our local...
Where Are We In The Milky Way | Milky Way Facts - Star Walk
Feb 25, 2022 · The Milky Way is the second-largest galaxy in the Local Group of galaxies; the first place goes to Andromeda. The Milky Way is 105,700 light-years wide while the Andromeda Galaxy is 220,000 light-years in width .
The Milky Way Galaxy - NASA Science
Nov 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.
Milky Way Galaxy - National Geographic Kids
The ancient Romans called the band via lacteal, which means “milky road” or “milky way.” The band of light that you see isn’t actually milk, of course—it’s a galaxy. A galaxy is a huge...
The Milky Way Galaxy - Harvard–Smithsonian Center for …
The Milky Way is our galactic home, part of the story of how we came to be. Astronomers have learned that it’s a large spiral galaxy, similar to many others, but also different in ways that reflect its unique history. Living inside the Milky Way gives us a close-up view of its structure and contents, which we can’t do for other galaxies.
The Milky Way Galaxy - Imagine the Universe!
Jan 9, 2025 · Our Galaxy is a spiral galaxy that formed approximately 14 billion years ago. Contained in the Milky Way are stars, clouds of dust and gas called nebulae, planets, and asteroids. Stars, dust, and gas fan out from the center of the Galaxy in long spiraling arms. The Milky Way is approximately 100,000 light-years in diameter.
What is the Milky Way? - Live Science
Jun 10, 2021 · The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, one of hundreds of billions in the observable universe. It's also our home. Like other galaxies, the Milky Way is an isolated collection of...