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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 [c] 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 from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.
center – the study of the central region of the Milky Way; disk – the study of the Milky Way disk (the plane upon which most galactic objects are aligned) evolution – the evolution of the Milky Way; formation – the formation of the Milky Way; fundamental parameters – the fundamental parameters of the Milky Way (mass, size etc.)
The outer end of it is identified either with the Cygnus Arm (not to be confused with local and minor Orion-Cygnus Arm), which lies outside the Perseus Arm, or the Outer Arm, which is located farther away from the center of the Galaxy than the Cygnus Arm. [1] The Norma Arm begins 2.2 kpc from the Galactic Center, [2] and extends outward to a ...
Astronomers have spied an intriguing phenomenon in the distant universe — a galaxy that closely resembles the Milky Way — and it’s challenging key theories on how galaxies evolve.
Observed structure of the Milky Way's spiral arms. The Carina–Sagittarius Arm (also known as the Sagittarius Arm or Sagittarius–Carina Arm, labeled -I [clarification needed]) is generally thought to be a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. [1] Each spiral arm is a long, diffuse curving streamer of stars that radiates from the Galactic ...
The galactic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system in spherical coordinates, with the Sun as its center, the primary direction aligned with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the fundamental plane parallel to an approximation of the galactic plane but offset to its north.
Astronomers using the Gaia space telescope have located two ancient streams of stars that helped the Milky Way galaxy grow and evolve more than 12 billion years ago.