The Milky Way

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System. It is a barred spiral galaxy, spanning about 100,000 light-years in diameter and containing around 100-400 billion stars. The galaxy has a central bulge, surrounded by spiral arms where stars and planets are concentrated. The Solar System is located in the Orion Arm, about 27,000 light-years from the galactic center. The Milky Way also contains vast amounts of gas, dust, and dark matter. It is part of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Andromeda Galaxy and dozens of smaller galaxies.