Milky Way Galaxy  Written by: Paul W. Hodge Alternate title: The
Galaxy  The disk  From a distance the most conspicuous part of
the Galaxy would be the disk, which extends from the nucleus out
to approximately 75,000 light-years. The Galaxy resembles other
spiral systems, featuring as it does a bright, flat arrangement
of stars and gas clouds that is spread out over its entirety and
marked by a spiral structure. The disk can be thought of as
being the underlying body of stars upon which the arms are
superimposed. This body has a thickness that is roughly one-
fifth its diameter, but different components have different
characteristic thicknesses. The thinnest component, often called
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