Map of the Universe

Milky Way

Galaxy · Galaxy containing the Solar System

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Milky Way
Picture: ESO/Y. Beletsky, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

About the Milky Way

The Milky Way is about 57,311 light-years from the Sun, so the light we see from it left about 57,311 years ago.

It is 50,554 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way.

The map lists it as a galaxy and shows it at the scale of the Milky Way and the Local Group, drawn on the plane of the Milky Way.

Our galaxy: a barred spiral about 87,000 light-years across its bright disc (and at least 160,000 light-years counting faint outer stars), holding 100–400 billion stars. The Sun is 26,996 light-years from the centre.

Key numbers

Distance57,311 light-years (17.57 kpc)
Distance from the Galactic centre50,554 light-years
Galactic coordinatesl = 298.10°, b = +0.00°

Where it is

Its place in the universe, from the inside out: Local Group › Virgo Supercluster › Laniakea Supercluster › Observable universe.

Zoom out to see it in context: Milky Way, a view about 160,000 light-years across.

From Wikipedia

The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy, or simply the Galaxy, is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed by stars in other arms of the galaxy, which are so far away that they cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Milky Way, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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