The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy where the solar system is located, including 1000~400 billion stars and a large number of star clusters, nebulae and various types of interstellar gas and interstellar dust. The total mass of the Milky Way is about 1.5 trillion times that of the Sun[1][2], and it belongs to the local group of galaxies, with the nearest extragalactic galaxy being the Dwarf Canis Major galaxy 42,000 light-years away.

The Milky Way is an oblate sphere with a massive disk structure consisting of a bright and dense core, two major spiral arms, and two unformed spiral arms, 4,500 light-years apart. The Sun is located on the Orion Arm, an arm of the Milky Way, and is about 26,000 light-years away from the galactic center.

At the center of the Milky Way is Sagittarius A, the source of complex and dense radio waves, and its proximity to the center contains a supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A*), which is considered to be the central black hole of the Milky Way and the closest supermassive black hole to the solar system [3]. The Milky Way is composed from the inside to the outside, including the Silver Heart, the Silver Core, the Silver Disk, the Silver Halo, and the Silver Crown. The central region of the Milky Way is mostly composed of old stars (mainly white dwarfs [4]), and the outer regions are mostly nascent and young stars. There are more than a dozen satellite galaxies scattered over an area of hundreds of thousands of light-years, the larger of which are the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Milky Way grows by slowly devouring the dwarf galaxies around it. In March 2015, scientists discovered that the Milky Way is 50% larger than previously thought.

Chinese name

Galaxy

Foreign name

The Milky Way

shape

Oval disc

type

Sb, Sbc, or SB(rs)bc[5]

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy where the solar system is located, including 1000~400 billion stars and a large number of star clusters, nebulae and various types of interstellar gas and interstellar dust. The total mass of the Milky Way is about 1.5 trillion times that of the Sun[1][2], and it belongs to the local group of galaxies, with the nearest extragalactic galaxy being the Dwarf Canis Major galaxy 42,000 light-years away.

The Milky Way is an oblate sphere with a massive disk structure consisting of a bright and dense core, two major spiral arms, and two unformed spiral arms, 4,500 light-years apart. The Sun is located on the Orion Arm, an arm of the Milky Way, and is about 26,000 light-years away from the galactic center.

At the center of the Milky Way is Sagittarius A, the source of complex and dense radio waves, and its proximity to the center contains a supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A*), which is considered to be the central black hole of the Milky Way and the closest supermassive black hole to the solar system [3]. The Milky Way is composed from the inside to the outside, including the Silver Heart, the Silver Core, the Silver Disk, the Silver Halo, and the Silver Crown. The central region of the Milky Way is mostly composed of old stars (mainly white dwarfs [4]), and the outer regions are mostly nascent and young stars. There are more than a dozen satellite galaxies scattered over an area of hundreds of thousands of light-years, the larger of which are the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Milky Way grows by slowly devouring the dwarf galaxies around it. In March 2015, scientists discovered that the Milky Way is 50% larger than previously thought.

Chinese name

Galaxy

Foreign name

The Milky Way

shape

Oval disc

type

Sb, Sbc, or SB(rs)bc[5]

diameter

100～180 kly（31～55 kpc）[6]

Overview of celestial bodies



The Milky Way is the star system where the solar system is located, including 1500~400 billion stars and a large number of star clusters and nebulae, as well as various types of interstellar gas and interstellar dust, black holes, and its total visible mass is 1.5 trillion times the mass of the sun. [11]

Most of the stars in the Milky Way are concentrated in an oblate sphere of space, which is shaped like a discus. The protruding part of the oblate sphere in the middle is called the "nuclear sphere" and has a radius of about 7,000 light-years. The middle part of the nuclear ball is called the "silver core", and the surrounding area is called the "silver plate". Outside the galactic disk there is a larger, spherical region where there are fewer stars and less dense, known as the "galactic halo", with a diameter of 70,000 light-years.

In the past, the Milky Way was thought to be a spiral galaxy like the Andromeda Galaxy, but the latest research suggests that the Milky Way should be a barred spiral galaxy ---with a rod-like structure of stars and dust that spans the galactic center and is about 27,000 light-years long.

90% of the Milky Way is made up of stars. There are many types of stars, and according to their physical properties, chemical composition, spatial distribution, and motion characteristics, stars can be divided into five star families. The youngest extreme family I. stars are mainly distributed in the spiral arms of the galactic disk, and the oldest extreme family II stars are mainly distributed in the galactic halo. Stars often clump together. In addition to a large number of binary stars, more than a thousand star clusters have been discovered in the Milky Way. There is also gas and dust in the Milky Way, which accounts for about 10% of the total mass of the Milky Way, and the distribution of gas and dust is uneven, some are clustered into nebulae, and some are scattered in interstellar space. [12]

A total of 10 photos

Galaxy

Since the 60s of the 20th century, a large number of interstellar molecules, such as carbon monoxide, water, methane, etc., have been discovered.

Molecular clouds are the main site of star formation. The core of the Milky Way, the galactic core, or the galactic core, is a very special place. It emits intense radio, infrared, X-ray and γ-ray radiation, the nature of which is unknown, and there may be a giant black hole (sgr*A) there, estimated to have a mass of 4.02 million times the mass of the Sun.

Sagittarius A

In 1971, British astronomers Lyndon Bell and Martin Ness analyzed infrared observations and other properties in the central region of the Milky Way, pointed out that the energy source of the center of the Milky Way should be a black hole, and predicted that if their hypothesis was correct, a small source of radio radiation should be observable at the center of the Milky Way, and the properties of this radiation should be the same as that observed in terrestrial synchrotrons. Three years later, such a radiation source was discovered, and this was Sagittarius A.

Sagittarius A has an extremely small scale, the size of an ordinary star, emits radio radiation of 2 x 10 (to the 34th power) Erg/s, and is located within 0.2 light-years of the Milky Way's dynamic center. It is surrounded by moving ionized gases with speeds of up to 300 km/s, as well as strong sources of infrared radiation. The activity of all known stellar objects does not explain the singular properties of Sagittarius A, so Sagittarius A appears to be the best candidate for massive black holes. But because there is currently no conclusive evidence for massive black holes, astronomers are careful not to refer to massive black holes in conclusive language. Our galaxy contains about 300 billion stars, of which there are about 200 billion stars, and the sun is a typical one. The Milky Way is a fairly large barred spiral galaxy that consists of three parts, including a galactic disk containing a spiral arm, a galactic center with a central protrusion, and a halo part.

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100～180 kly（31～55 kpc）[6]

Overview of celestial bodies



The Milky Way is the star system where the solar system is located, including 1500~400 billion stars and a large number of star clusters and nebulae, as well as various types of interstellar gas and interstellar dust, black holes, and its total visible mass is 1.5 trillion times the mass of the sun. [11]

Most of the stars in the Milky Way are concentrated in an oblate sphere of space, which is shaped like a discus. The protruding part of the oblate sphere in the middle is called the "nuclear sphere" and has a radius of about 7,000 light-years. The middle part of the nuclear ball is called the "silver core", and the surrounding area is called the "silver plate". Outside the galactic disk there is a larger, spherical region where there are fewer stars and less dense, known as the "galactic halo", with a diameter of 70,000 light-years.

In the past, the Milky Way was thought to be a spiral galaxy like the Andromeda Galaxy, but the latest research suggests that the Milky Way should be a barred spiral galaxy ---with a rod-like structure of stars and dust that spans the galactic center and is about 27,000 light-years long.

90% of the Milky Way is made up of stars. There are many types of stars, and according to their physical properties, chemical composition, spatial distribution, and motion characteristics, stars can be divided into five star families. The youngest extreme family I. stars are mainly distributed in the spiral arms of the galactic disk, and the oldest extreme family II stars are mainly distributed in the galactic halo. Stars often clump together. In addition to a large number of binary stars, more than a thousand star clusters have been discovered in the Milky Way. There is also gas and dust in the Milky Way, which accounts for about 10% of the total mass of the Milky Way, and the distribution of gas and dust is uneven, some are clustered into nebulae, and some are scattered in interstellar space. [12]

A total of 10 photos

Galaxy

Since the 60s of the 20th century, a large number of interstellar molecules, such as carbon monoxide, water, methane, etc., have been discovered.

Molecular clouds are the main site of star formation. The core of the Milky Way, the galactic core, or the galactic core, is a very special place. It emits intense radio, infrared, X-ray and γ-ray radiation, the nature of which is unknown, and there may be a giant black hole (sgr*A) there, estimated to have a mass of 4.02 million times the mass of the Sun.

Sagittarius A

In 1971, British astronomers Lyndon Bell and Martin Ness analyzed infrared observations and other properties in the central region of the Milky Way, pointed out that the energy source of the center of the Milky Way should be a black hole, and predicted that if their hypothesis was correct, a small source of radio radiation should be observable at the center of the Milky Way, and the properties of this radiation should be the same as that observed in terrestrial synchrotrons. Three years later, such a radiation source was discovered, and this was Sagittarius A.

Sagittarius A has a very small scale, only equivalent to the size of an ordinary star, and emits radio radiation intensity of 2*10 (34 power) Erg/Milky Way (English: The Milky Way), which is the barred spiral galaxy where the solar system is located, including 1000~400 billion stars and a large number of star clusters, nebulae and various types of interstellar gas and interstellar dust. The total mass of the Milky Way is about 1.5 trillion times that of the Sun[1][2], and it belongs to the local group of galaxies, with the nearest extragalactic galaxy being the Dwarf Canis Major galaxy 42,000 light-years away.

The Milky Way is an oblate sphere with a massive disk structure consisting of a bright and dense core, two major spiral arms, and two unformed spiral arms, 4,500 light-years apart. The Sun is located on the Orion Arm, an arm of the Milky Way, and is about 26,000 light-years away from the galactic center.

At the center of the Milky Way is Sagittarius A, the source of complex and dense radio waves, and its proximity to the center contains a supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A*), which is considered to be the central black hole of the Milky Way and the closest supermassive black hole to the solar system [3]. The Milky Way is composed from the inside to the outside, including the Silver Heart, the Silver Core, the Silver Disk, the Silver Halo, and the Silver Crown. The central region of the Milky Way is mostly composed of old stars (mainly white dwarfs [4]), and the outer regions are mostly nascent and young stars. There are more than a dozen satellite galaxies scattered over an area of hundreds of thousands of light-years, the larger of which are the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Milky Way grows by slowly devouring the dwarf galaxies around it. In March 2015, scientists discovered that the Milky Way is 50% larger than previously thought.

Chinese name

Galaxy

Foreign name

The Milky Way

shape

Oval disc

type

Sb, Sbc, or SB(rs)bc[5]

diameter

100～180 kly（31～55 kpc）[6]

Overview of celestial bodies



The Milky Way is the star system where the solar system is located, including 1500~400 billion stars and a large number of star clusters and nebulae, as well as various types of interstellar gas and interstellar dust, black holes, and its total visible mass is 1.5 trillion times the mass of the sun. [11]

Most of the stars in the Milky Way are concentrated in an oblate sphere of space, which is shaped like a discus. The protruding part of the oblate sphere in the middle is called the "nuclear sphere" and has a radius of about 7,000 light-years. The middle part of the nuclear ball is called the "silver core", and the surrounding area is called the "silver plate". Outside the galactic disk there is a larger, spherical region where there are fewer stars and less dense, known as the "galactic halo", with a diameter of 70,000 light-years.

In the past, the Milky Way was thought to be a spiral galaxy like the Andromeda Galaxy, but the latest research suggests that the Milky Way should be a barred spiral galaxy ---with a rod-like structure of stars and dust that spans the galactic center and is about 27,000 light-years long.

90% of the Milky Way is made up of stars. There are many types of stars, and according to their physical properties, chemical composition, spatial distribution, and motion characteristics, stars can be divided into five star families. The youngest extreme family I. stars are mainly distributed in the spiral arms of the galactic disk, and the oldest extreme family II stars are mainly distributed in the galactic halo. Stars often clump together. In addition to a large number of binary stars, more than a thousand star clusters have been discovered in the Milky Way. There is also gas and dust in the Milky Way, which accounts for about 10% of the total mass of the Milky Way, and the distribution of gas and dust is uneven, some are clustered into nebulae, and some are scattered in interstellar space. [12]

A total of 10 photos

Galaxy

Since the 60s of the 20th century, a large number of interstellar molecules, such as carbon monoxide, water, methane, etc., have been discovered.

Molecular clouds are the main site of star formation. The core of the Milky Way, the galactic core, or the galactic core, is a very special place. It emits intense radio, infrared, X-ray and γ-ray radiation, the nature of which is unknown, and there may be a giant black hole (sgr*A) there, estimated to have a mass of 4.02 million times the mass of the Sun.

Sagittarius A

In 1971, British astronomers Lyndon Bell and Martin Ness analyzed infrared observations and other properties in the central region of the Milky Way, pointed out that the energy source of the center of the Milky Way should be a black hole, and predicted that if their hypothesis was correct, a small source of radio radiation should be observable at the center of the Milky Way, and the properties of this radiation should be the same as that observed in terrestrial synchrotrons. Three years later, such a radiation source was discovered, and this was Sagittarius A.

Sagittarius A has an extremely small scale, the size of an ordinary star, emits radio radiation of 2 x 10 (to the 34th power) Erg/s, and is located within 0.2 light-years of the Milky Way's dynamic center. It is surrounded by moving ionized gases with speeds of up to 300 km/s, as well as strong sources of infrared radiation. The activity of all known stellar objects does not explain the singular properties of Sagittarius A, so Sagittarius A appears to be the best candidate for massive black holes. But because there is currently no conclusive evidence for massive black holes, astronomers are careful not to refer to massive black holes in conclusive language. Our galaxy contains about 300 billion stars, of which there are about 200 billion stars, and the sun is a typical one. The Milky Way is a fairly large barred spiral galaxy that consists of three parts, including a galactic disk containing a spiral arm, a galactic center with a central protrusion, and a halo part.

Loading, it is within 0.2 light-years of the Milky Way's dynamical center. It is surrounded by moving ionized gases with speeds of up to 300 km/s, as well as strong sources of infrared radiation. The activity of all known stellar objects does not explain the singular properties of Sagittarius A, so Sagittarius A appears to be the best candidate for massive black holes. But because there is currently no conclusive evidence for massive black holes, astronomers are careful not to refer to massive black holes in conclusive language. Our galaxy contains about 300 billion stars, of which there are about 200 billion stars, and the sun is a typical one. The Milky Way is a fairly large barred spiral galaxy that consists of three parts, including a galactic disk containing a spiral arm, a galactic center with a central protrusion, and a halo part.

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