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The Milky Way [c] is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, ... This concentration of mass is best explained as a supermassive black hole [h] [181] [189] ...
The Greek name for the Milky Way (Γαλαξίας Galaxias) is derived from the Greek word for milk (γάλα, gala). One legend explains how the Milky Way was created by Heracles (Roman Hercules) when he was a baby. [16] His father, Zeus, was fond of his son, who was born of the mortal woman Alcmene.
N = the number of civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy with which communication might be possible (i.e. which are on the current past light cone); and N ∗ = Number of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy; f p = the fraction of those stars that have planets. n e = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets.
The nature of the Milky Way's bar, which extends across the Galactic Center, is also actively debated, with estimates for its half-length and orientation spanning between 1–5 kpc (short or a long bar) and 10–50°. [23] [25] [27] Certain authors advocate that the Milky Way features two distinct bars, one nestled within the other. [28]
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is providing the best look yet at the chaotic events unfolding around the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, observing a steady ...
Approximately 400 elliptical galaxies are moving toward the Great Attractor beyond the Zone of Avoidance caused by the Milky Way galaxy light. Intense efforts during the late 1990s, to work through the difficulties caused by the occlusion by the Milky Way, identified the Norma Cluster at the center of the Great Attractor region. [1]
The Milky Way started out small and grew in size as it merged with other galaxies, gaining stars as well as hydrogen to form more stars. Each galaxy has hydrogen gas that aids in the birth of stars.
The Milky Way galaxy is a member of an association named the Local Group, a relatively small group of galaxies that has a diameter of approximately one megaparsec. The Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy are the two brightest galaxies within the group; many of the other member galaxies are dwarf companions of these two. [176]