Difference between revisions of "Milky Way"
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
*[http://www.space.com/milkyway/ Milky Way Galaxy at Space.com] | *[http://www.space.com/milkyway/ Milky Way Galaxy at Space.com] | ||
[[Category: Science]] | |||
Revision as of 22:34, 13 December 2007
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy approximately 250-300 thousand light-years in diameter and containing 200-400 billion stars. The Sol system, containing the planet Earth, is located in one of the Milky Way's spiral arms.
Debate Use
The Milky Way is often used as a model when estimating interstellar travel distances. For instance, if a trip is described as going from the "core" of a galaxy to the "rim" of the galaxy, the distance can be estimated to be a significant fraction of the 125,000 light-year radius of the Milky Way.
For some science fiction settings (including Star Trek), the Milky Way is the actual galaxy in which events occur, making its features even more relevant to debates involving them.