Milky Way galaxy facts

 Milky Way galaxy 

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy located in the Local Group, about 25 million light-years away from the center of the Virgo Supercluster. It has a total mass of about 200 billion stars and a diameter of about 100,000 light-years. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group, a small cluster of galaxies that includes the Andromeda Galaxy, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and other galaxies. It is one of the most studied galaxies in the universe and is thought to have formed around 13.2 billion years ago. Its stars, gas, and dust form a disk that is approximately 120,000 light-years in diameter and is surrounded by a spherical halo of dark matter. The Milky Way is home to our solar system and contains four spiral arms, which are made up of stars, gas, and dust.

Facts 

• The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy located in the Local Group of galaxies, which is a small group of galaxies in the Virgo Supercluster.

• The Milky Way galaxy is estimated to be between 100,000 and 180,000 light years in diameter and contains between 100 and 400 billion stars.

• The Milky Way is the second-largest galaxy in the Local Group, behind the Andromeda Galaxy.

• Our Sun is located about 27,000 light-years from the Galactic Center, on the inner edge of one of the spiral-shaped concentrations of gas and dust called the Orion Arm.

• The Milky Way is visible from Earth as a hazy band of white light, some 30° wide, arching across the night sky.

• The Milky Way is estimated to contain between 200 and 400 billion stars, and at least 100 billion planets.

•  It is thought that the Milky Way is made up of four spiral arms, although the exact number is still debated.

• There is thought to be a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, with a mass of 4.3 million solar masses.

• The Milky Way is moving through space at a speed of about 600 km/s relative to the cosmic microwave background.

• The Milky Way is estimated to be around 13.6 billion years old.