Milky Way

The Milky Way is a vast spiral galaxy that contains our solar system, along with billions of other stars and their planets. Shaped like a flat disk with a central bulge, it stretches about 100,000 light-years across. It features spiral arms filled with stars, gas, and dust. The galaxy is part of a larger group called the Local Group, which includes other galaxies. From Earth, we see it as a bright band of light in the night sky, created by the combined light of countless stars. The Milky Way plays a central role in our understanding of the universe.