From our position on Earth, we simply lack an overview. Astronomers sometimes compare the effort to attempting to describe the size and structure of a forest while being lost in the middle of it. Studying the Milky Way used to be notoriously difficult. (Image credit: Photo by Kendall Hoopes from Pexels) The Milky Way's mesmerizing glowing band has had humankind star-struck for eons. Both of these planets have had their diameters measured directly as they transit their parent star. The largest planets whose sizes are known for certain are HAT-P-67 b and XO-6b, both with diameters around 2.1 times that of Jupiter. The radius measurement is highly uncertain, as some of the material surrounding the planet may be masquerading as being part of the planet itself. The biggest known planet in the Milky Way may be HD 100546 b, which is a very large gas giant in the process of forming with a diameter roughly 6.9 times that of Jupiter, or 77 times that of Earth. What is the biggest planet in the Milky Way? A central bar (or central bulge) is a circular to oval shaped structure of old stars which lies at the center of spiral galaxies. The Milky Way is a large barred spiral galaxy, with a relatively small bar compared to most galaxies of a similar size. We reside in a feature known as the Orion Spur (sometimes also called the Orion Arm), which is an offshoot between the larger Sagittarius and Perseus Arms that lie inwards and outwards of our location. Where is Earth in the Milky Way?Įarth is located roughly halfway to the edge of the Milky Way, at a distance of about 26,000 light years from the center. We asked Rory Bentley, astronomer at the University of California, Los Angeles, a few frequently asked questions about the Milky Way.Īstronomer and graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in high-mass stars and studies of the Milky Way's core. For example in China it is called "Silver River" and in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa it's called the "Backbone of Night". In Greek mythology, this milky band appeared because the goddess Hera sprayed milk across the sky.Īround the world, the Milky Way is known by different names. Why is our galaxy called the Milky Way?Īccording to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), our galactic home is called the Milky Way after its apparent milky white appearance as it stretches across the night sky. In 2022, we imaged this glutton at the core of our galaxy for the very first time, through an innovative technique allowing us to view the shadow of the black hole. About 4 million times the mass of the sun, this beast consumes anything that strays too close, gorging on an ample supply of stellar material enabling it to grow into a giant. Lying at the very heart of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*. Our window into the universe, this milky white band of stars, dust and gas is where our galaxy gets its name. On a clear night, void of light pollution, we can catch a glimpse of the bright lights of the galactic city streaking across the night sky.
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