The Milky Way

Did you know that the milky way isn't just a bar of chocolate? It is a galaxy in our Universe, here are some cool facts about the Milky Way.

  • There are over 200 billion stars in the Milky Way. The Milky Way is only a medium sized galaxy with an estimated 200 billion stars. The largest galaxy we know of is called IC 1101 and has over 100 trillion stars.

  • The Milky Way is also really dusty and gassy. About 10-15% of the Milky Way’s visible matter is made of dust and gas, with the rest being stars. On a clear night, the dusty ring of the Milky Way can be seen in the night sky.

  • The Milky Way was made of over galaxies  In order for the Milky Way to achieve its current size and shape it has consumed other galaxies throughout its history. Our galaxy is currently consuming the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy by adding the smaller galaxy’s stars to its own spiral.

  • The Milky Way is almost as old as the universe itself.Scientists estimate that the Universe is about 13.7 billion years old and that the Milky Way is about 13.6 billion years old. Although the main parts of the galaxy were formed in the early days of the Universe, the disk and the bulge did not fully form until about 10-12 billion years ago.

  • The Milky Way moves through space. Everything in space, including the Milky Way, is moving. The Earth moves around the Sun.

  • The Milky Way is a disk that measures about 120,000 light years across, with a central bulge that has a diameter of about 12,000 light years. The disk is not perfectly flat though, it is warped due to our neighboring galaxies Large and Small Magellanic clouds. These two galaxies have been pulling on the matter in our galaxy

  • The Milky Way is made up of 90% dark matter 

  • The milky way is moving 1.3 million miles per hour



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