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The Milky Way's spiral structure is uncertain, and there is currently no consensus on the nature of the Milky Way's arms. [212] Perfect logarithmic spiral patterns only crudely describe features near the Sun, [210] [213] because galaxies commonly have arms that branch, merge, twist unexpectedly, and feature a degree of irregularity.
The Orion Arm, also known as the Orion–Cygnus Arm, is a minor spiral arm within the Milky Way Galaxy spanning 3,500 light-years (1,100 parsecs) in width and extending roughly 20,000 light-years (6,100 parsecs) in length. [2] This galactic structure encompasses the Solar System, including Earth.
The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy with two major arms and a number of minor arms or spurs. [1] The Perseus Spiral Arm, with a radius of approximately 10.7 kiloparsecs, is located between the minor Cygnus and Carina–Sagittarius Arms. [1] It is named after the Perseus constellation in the direction of which it is seen from Earth.
The results were that the spiral pitch angle of the arms is 7.3 ± 1.5 degrees, and the half-width of the arms of the Milky Way were found to be 0.2 kpc. The nearest part to the Sun is around 1.4 ± 0.2 kpc away. [3]
Orion Arm: 3000 pc (length) 9.26×10 16: The spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy through which the Sun is currently travelling. Orbit of the Solar System: 17,200 pc 5.31×10 17: The average diameter of the orbit of the Solar System relative to the Galactic Center. The Sun's orbital radius is roughly 8,600 parsecs, or slightly over halfway to the ...
Given the distance between Earth and the objects from the early days of the universe, when telescopes like Webb observe light from the distant cosmos, it’s effectively like looking into the past.
The Scutum–Centaurus Arm, also known as Scutum-Crux arm, is a long, diffuse curving streamer of stars, gas and dust that spirals outward from the proximate end of the Milky Way's central bar. The Milky Way has been posited since the 1950s to have four spiral arms ; numerous studies contest or nuance this number. [ 1 ]
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]