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Milky Way

✨ Our cosmic home

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System and is part of a much larger collection of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter. It is a spiral galaxy with a central region surrounded by curved arms that extend outward.

Scientists estimate that it contains between 100 and 400 billion stars. Our Sun is located in one of the galaxy’s spiral arms, about 26,000 light-years from the center, where a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A* is found.

From Earth, the Milky Way appears as a faint glowing band crossing the night sky. This effect is caused by the combined light of many distant stars that are too far away to be seen individually.

The galaxy has been changing for billions of years through the formation of new stars, the movement of its components, and interactions with nearby galaxies. By studying the Milky Way, astronomers learn more about the formation and evolution of galaxies, as well as the place of our Solar System within the universe.

💡 Did you know?

Do you know where we are in the Milky Way? We are not at the center at all, but rather in the suburbs! Our Solar System is located on one of the spiral arms, called the 'Orion Arm.' It's a quiet corner of the galaxy, perfect for life to develop on Earth.

Why is it called the 'Milky Way'? Ancient Greeks told a legend that the baby god Hercules spilled milk from his mother Hera across the sky. In reality, what we see as a white trail is the combined light of millions of distant stars that our eyes cannot distinguish separately.

Did you know? The Milky Way is currently 'eating' small neighboring galaxies! It uses its gravity to pull in dwarf galaxies and absorb them. This is called 'galactic cannibalism.' It's one way our galaxy keeps growing over time.