The Milky Way

Interesting Facts About The Milky Way

The Milky Way is one of over 200 billion galaxies, according to recent estimates, but the number may be closer to 2 trillion.

The Milky Way Galaxy is 105,700 light-years across with approximately 250 billion stars with around 500 planetary systems, similar to the solar system.

The Sun is just one of 250 billion stars in our galaxy.

The solar system has its own orbit around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy, traveling 514,000 mph, which takes 230 million years to make a complete orbit.

The Milky Way moves in space relative to other galaxies.

In about 3 to 4 billion years, the Milky Way will collide with its nearest neighbor, Andromeda Galaxy.  The two are rushing toward each other at the speed or 70 miles per second, or 250,000 mph.

Like the Milky Way, each galaxy has 100 to 250 billion stars.

The Sun is 25,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, or 147 quadrillion miles (147,000 trillion).

In the Milky Way, astronomers have discovered more than 2,500 other stars with planets orbiting them, called planetary systems.  Those planets outside the solar system are called exoplanets.

The Milky Way is part of the Local Group, a cluster of around 50 galaxies with the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies being the largest.  The Local Group has a diameter of 10 million light-years and is in motion relative to even larger structures in the universe.