The Milky Way

barred spiral galaxy · our home, 100,000 light-years across

26,670 light-years to its centre

About 200 billion stars. Arms, bar and our place in the Orion Spur follow radio and Gaia maps; nobody has ever seen it from outside.

• the Sun circles the centre at 230 km/s
• one lap, a "galactic year", takes about 230 million years

kind

galaxy