It’s incredibly effortless and easy to get all caught up in the hustle and bustle that life on Earth brings. However, our home planet is only an incredibly tiny part of our galaxy. Our home galaxy is known as the Milky Way, and everything we know from the Sun and our solar system are all a part of it.
There’s certainly a ton of ground (or space) to cover upon learning more about the Milky Way galaxy. However, there have been a couple of new developments to our collective knowledge about space and our galaxy. Here are a few fascinating facts about the Milky Way to get you started.
1.There Are Billions of Stars in The Milky Way
Thanks to scientists, we now know that the Milky Way is an incredibly big galaxy. They certainly deserve credit for teaching us how galaxies, as well as our home galaxy, work. One interesting thing about the Milky Way is that scientists don’t exactly know the exact count and number of stars in it. However, it’s been estimated that the figure is around the billions.
According to Live Science, Europe’s Space Agency’s Gai satellite has been able to map the location of around a billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. However, this figure is thought to represent only 1 percent of the total number of stars. With this fact, the Milky Way likely contains around 100 billion stars, which is, of course, still an estimate.
2.Our Sun Takes A Long Time to Make A Full Lap
As we said, the Milky Way is an incredibly vast galaxy. Our sun is just one of the hundred billion stars that call it home. Fittingly, our sun takes a long time to complete a single orbit around the Milky Way. Scientists estimate that our sun takes approximately 250 million years to circle around the Milky Way. So far, our home star has made 20 trips around the Milky Way.
Two hundred fifty million years is certainly an astounding contrast to Earth’s orbit around the sun. As we all know, the Earth takes 365 days to do a full lap. However, it’s essential to remember that the Milky Way is way more massive when compared to the sun. It’s certainly an interesting fact about the Milky Way, and scientists deserve a ton of credit for this discovery.
3.The Milky Way Is Part of Something That’s Even Larger
If you thought that the Milky Way was big, wait till you learn that it’s actually part of something even larger. The Milky Way is just another galaxy in a group of galaxies that are known as the Virgo Supercluster. This contains at least 100 galaxy groups and clusters. Now, we are wondering how many planets and stars there are in this massive collection of galaxies.
This fact is the result of intensive studies made by several scientists around the world. We wouldn’t have an idea of how tiny we truly are without them, and we credit their desire to know more about our Universe.
4.Only A Tiny Portion of The Milky Way Is Visible to Us
As we said, the Milky Way is a massive collection of stars to which we currently belong in. You might have seen what others call the Milky Way in the night sky. Interestingly, the Milky Way you see in the night sky is only a tiny part of it. At first glance, you would undoubtedly be in awe of the number of stars you’re able to see in the night sky. However, it’s only 0.000003 percent of the entire Milky Way.
5.A Lot of People Cannot See the Milky Way from Their Homes
The Milky Way galaxy has a relatively low surface brightness. This means that light pollution or even the light coming from the moon can greatly affect its visibility. As we currently live in an advanced society, light pollution is getting worse by the second. However, there are still some places in which light pollution doesn’t affect the visibility of the night sky. Research for the nearest place or country where you can see the Milky way before hiring a moving company so you can see the view every night.
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