Do you know that the milky way has more stars in the observable universe than the grains of sand on all the oceans in the whole world? Do you know that it will take us almost 1,00,000 years to go from one end of the milky way to another if we travel at the speed of light? These questions indicate how big is our milky way. Do you know that one day the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy will collide someday? What happens when two of the biggest galaxies in the universe collide with each other? If there are billions of stars in the Milky way then how many planets are there in it?
There are many galaxies in our universe and the Milky way is the one where our Solar system is present. The Milky way is generally referred to as Earth’s home galaxy where we reside as part of this planet. It contains all the stars and giant pillars of gas and dust.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT OUR MILKY WAY?
Well if we have to go by size, the milky way is somewhat 1.5 trillion times the mass of our sun. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a part of a collection known as the Local Group which consists of 30 galaxies. Some astronomers say that the two galaxies that are the milky way and the Andromeda galaxy will collide someday. The outcome of this great collision has time and the result of it is still unknown.
According to some astronomers, the Milky Way from the outside is a barred spiral galaxy that has a band of stars across the centre and is, of course, spiral-shaped. If you want to see the centre of the galaxy, then look out for the constellation Sagittarius.
The Milky way has billions of stars in it and there is a good possibility that there can be millions of other planets which have not yet been discovered. We don’t know whether those planets can support lives or not. If there are billions and millions of planets and stars, then surely there can be thousands of solar systems.
The centre of the milky way has a black hole which is also a mystery to us. It must have so much power as it can attract many things inside it.
HOW OLD IS THE MILKY WAY?
It is said that the milky way is 13.5 billion years old that is just 200 million years younger than the rest of the universe. The milky way has been in the universe for many long years and there are lots of things that we are aware of it. For example, we do not What exactly is in the black hole? or What is that force that attracts everything towards it? or Are any other universes which we do not know about? Space and the Milky way are still a mystery to solve and our scientists and astronomers are still doing their best in research into space and The milky way.
We got to know many things about the Milky Way and the things that are present in it. All the things which we got to know about it are intriguing and astounding. Space and the milky way have so much in them that we cannot stop ourselves from discovering them. The more we learn about it, the more we get deeper and deeper about those things.
If you liked the content and have the curiosity to learn more things about space do have a look at our similar blog: https://explified.com/the-andromeda-galaxy-messier-31/
