We all live in a galaxy called the Milky Way, but we cannot see it for ourselves. To examine its entire scale, you need to look in the direction of the other side, so that only a piece of it can be found. But what we already know is amazing.
- The Milky Way is a disk about 120,000 light-years wide and the centerpiece (center space) about 12,000 light-years wide. But it has a flat shape and looks a bit "distorted".
- In the Milky Way, according to scientists, there are some 200 billion stars. By comparison, the largest galaxy we know, IC 1101, contains over 100 billion stars, or 500 times more.
- In Greek mythology, the Milky Way was created when Hera spilled milk while nursing Hercules.
- The Milky Way has four spiral arms that hold the stars in the galaxy. Our solar system is located near the center of the Perseus arm branch (interesting facts about the solar system).
- At the center of the galaxy lies a massive black hole millions of times larger than our Sun. The earth is 27,000 light-years away.
- Although the solar system is traveling at an average speed of 828,812 km / h, it still takes 230 million years to orbit the entire Milky Way.
- Astronomers are convinced that the stars, planets, asteroids, and dust we see make up only one-tenth of the weight of the entire Milky Way. The remaining 90% is calculated by what is called dark matter. But what he is like is a completely different mystery.
- Astronomers estimate that seven new stars are formed in the Milky Way galaxy each year. They come from clouds of gas and dust, which are "recyclable", the remains of exploding stars (interesting facts about stars).
- The Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy will eventually collide, but this will not happen soon, in about 4.5 billion years. Since the density of stars in these galaxies is small, they may simply pass by themselves.
- Andromeda and the Milky Way are part of a group of over 54 galaxies called the Universe. These two galaxies, as well as the Triangle, are three major galaxies in this group. The largest galaxy Andromeda, the Milky Way, comes second, and the Triangulum galaxy is third. Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxy orbiting galaxies found in the 2.5 to 3 million light-years from the Milky Way.
- All the stars in our galaxy account are about 3% of their weight.
- Despite the billions of stars around us, no more than 2,500 of them can be seen by telescope anywhere on Earth at a time.
- The earth is the center of our galaxy. Near the galactic center, cosmic rays are so powerful that life can arise from there (interesting facts about radiation).
- Because of its size, our galaxy often attracts stars from other galaxies.
- Scientists estimate that the universe is less than 14 billion years old. At the same time, the Milky Way is said to be 13.5-13.6 billion years, that is, approximately equal to the Universe.
- The Milky Way didn't look the way it does now - a good curved bend. It acquired its size and shape now by absorbing more galaxies, and it continues to do so to this day.
- Just as the planets have satellites, so does the Milky Way. These are relatively small (at cosmic levels) constellations.
- The Milky Way and Andromeda meet at a speed of about 140 km per second.
- We cannot take a picture of the Milky Way high because it is in bondage to a galactic disk. It's like trying to take a picture of your house while you're at it.
- The Omega Centauri constellation was once a small galaxy, but most of its stars have been swallowed up by the Milky Way, absorbing it.
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