This diagram of the Ptolemaic solar system from Peter Apian's Cosmographia
shows the "fixed stars" in the eighth heaven of the firmament,
behind which is a ninth, crystalline heaven, and behind that, the primum mobile.

6-19-13 - NAP DREAM - I went to dance class, and when we were in the costume room, choosing our dance costumes, someone eommented that Antonio Vega and I had survived 8 years together dancing.

Both Antonio Vega and I, while circling each other 'face to face' on the dance floor while conversing were both astounded to hear that there was anything to 'survive' because we didn't have a bad relationship - we were just there at the same time, neither one of us had a bad personality that we had to 'survive' each other as a dancing partner.

The other students of dance were assigned various partners to dance with and Antonio Vega and I just continued circling each other while this was going on - still dumbfounded.

I then went outside, where it had been raining and out next to the parking lot was a mess of dirt, rock, and puddles.

A little baby in a diaper sat near one of he puddles, and I decided to watch him so he didn't go into a puddle, so to entertain him, I picked up handfuls of rocks and debris and dropped them into a stream of water so the baby could watch the rocks tumble down into the water, one after the other.

NOTE: SEE: WOMAN WITH CHILD - AND COLLIDING GALAXIES BELOW
also NOTE: ISIS IS THE WOMAN WITH CHILD

yellowstone supervolcano getting ready to blow its cork

Vega, the 5th brightest star in the sky | Maser's Blog

Posted by: andreamaser on: December 8, 2012 ... Vega or Alpha Lyrae is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, and the fifth brightest star in the sky. ... sequence star only 25.3 light years away, making it one of the closer stars to Earth.

Resolving Vega and the inclination controversy with CHARA/MIRC

In astrology, certain stars are considered significant. Historically, all of the various heavenly bodies considered by astrologers were considered "stars", whether they were stars, planets, other stellar phenomena like novas and supernovas, or other solar system phenomena like comets and meteors.^[1]^[2]

Fixed and wandering stars

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In traditional astrological nomenclature, the stars were divided into fixed stars, Latin stellæ fixæ, which in astrology means the stars and other galactic or intergalactic bodies as recognized by astronomy; and "wandering stars" (Greek: πλανήτης αστήρ, planētēs astēr), which we know as the planets of the solar system. Astrology also treats the Sun, a star, and Earth's Moon as if they were planets in the horoscope. These stars were called "fixed" because it was thought that they were attached to the firmament, the most distant from Earth of the heavenly spheres.

Stars and astrological degrees

Certain of the astrological degrees were identified and known due to their association with a corresponding star.^[3] The astrological degrees that correspond to individual stars must be corrected for the precession of the equinoxes, and as such the astrologer must know when any given position of a fixed star was noted, to make the necessary corrections.^[4]

Stars in sidereal and tropical astrology

Traditional Western astrology is based on tropical astrology, which presumes an equal division of the celestial sphere along the ecliptic into twelve equal parts, starting with Aries. Sidereal astrology, at once the oldest and a recently revived astrological tradition, is more observationally oriented and uses the actual observed position of the stars and the traditional divisions of the zodiac constellations as its starting point. As a result of the precession of the equinoxes, the observed positions of the zodiac signs no longer correspond to the signs of tropical astrology.

Zodiac

Traditionally, the most important fixed points in the heavens were described by the constellations of the zodiac. Ptolemy's account likens the influence of some of the stars in the zodiac constellations to the planets; he writes, for example, that "The stars in the feet of Gemini (Alhena and Tejat Posterior) have an influence similar to that of Mercury, and moderately to that of Venus."^[5]

Non-zodiac constellations in astrology

Vivian E. Robson notes that many of the traditional constellations outside of the zodiac constellations occupy large degrees of arc and typically compass several of the tropical zodiac signs. Ptolemy referred to stars by reference to the anatomy or parts of the constellations in which they appeared; thus Arcturus he named the "right knee of Boötes". Most of the Western names of stars, such as Algol or Betelgeuse, are Arabic in origin. In 1603 the Augsburg lawyer-uranographer Johann Bayer introduced the current classificatory system for the brighter stars, in which stars are identified as belonging to their constellations by Greek letters, in (roughly) descending order of brightness; so that Regulus, brightest star in Leo, is called α Leonis, the brightest star of the Lion.^[6]

Astrological meteors

Unpredictable observations in the heavens, including novas and supernovas as well as other phenomena in the heavens such as comets, meteors, parhelions, and even rainbows, were all collected under the name of astrological meteors. According to Ptolemy, variations in the magnitude of fixed stars portends wind from the direction in which the star lies.^[7] Etymologically, the word meteor describes any phenomenon in the heavens, and derives from the Greek μετέωρον (meteōron), signifying anything in the sky or above the earth; this is the shared origin of English words such as meteoroid and meteorology.

These astrological meteors were typically held to be omens that presaged major world events. In De nova stella, Tycho Brahe, one of many astrologers who observed the supernova of 1572, stated his belief that the appearance of the supernova heralded the decline of the Roman Catholic Church and stated that the years 1592-1632 would be impacted by the astrological influence of the supernova. The years corresponded almost precisely with the lifespan of Gustavus Adolphus (1594 - 1632), the king of Sweden who championed the cause of Protestantism during the Thirty Years War. This apparently successful prediction won Brahe international fame as an astrologer.^[8]

Use

Some astrologers that consult the stars refer to their affects as paranatellonta, or "paran" for short. Paranatellonta are stars that fall upon one of the four angles of the horoscope (rising or setting, at the midheaven, or at the imum coeli) at the same time a significant planet is at one of those points. Thus, for example, if Sirius was rising while Jupiter was at the midheaven, Sirius would be considered a paran of Jupiter and could influence the way the astrologer interpreted Jupiter in that horoscope.^[10]

Specific fixed stars

Aldebaran

Astrologically, Aldebaran is a fortunate star, portending riches and honor. This star, named "Tascheter" by the Persians, is one of the four "royal stars" of the Persians from around 3000 BC. These stars were chosen in such way that they were approximately 6 hours apart in right ascension. Each of these stars was assigned to a season, Aldebaran was prominent in the March sky and as such, it was associated with the vernal equinox. Its current celestial longitude is 09 Ge. 47 as of 2006^[11]

Algol

In astrology, Algol is one of the most unfortunate stars.^[12] Ptolemy referred to it as "the Gorgon of Perseus" and associated it with death by decapitation: mirroring the myth of the hero Perseus’ victory over the snake-headed Gorgon Medusa.^[13] Historically, it has received a strong association with violence across a wide variety of cultures. Medieval Arabic commanders tried to ensure that no important battle began whilst the light of Algol was weak.^[14] The 17th century English astrologer William Lilly regarded any planet to be afflicted when within five degrees of conjunction.^[15] As of 1986 its celestial longitude was 25 Tau. 55'48.^[16]

Gienah

Gienah (gamma Corvi) is supposed to have a similar effect to Mars and Saturn, tending to promote greed and craftiness. It was one of the medieval Behenian stars, associated with onyx, burdock, and a crow-like kabbalistic symbol

. In this context it is sometimes referred to as Ala Corvi, "the wing of the crow or raven".

Procyon

Sirius

Vega

Vega (or Wega) takes its name from a loose transliteration of the Arabic word wāqi‘ meaning "falling".^[19] Its constellation (Lyre) was represented as a vulture or eagle so that Vega was referred to as the 'falling vulture/eagle'.^[20] This is a Pole star. Around 12,000 BC the pole was pointed only five degrees away from Vega and through precession, the pole will again pass near Vega around AD 14,000.^[21] Medieval astrologers counted Vega as one of the Behenian stars^[22] and related it to chrysolite and winter savory. Cornelius Agrippa listed its kabbalistic sign

under Vultur cadens, a literal Latin translation of the Arabic name.^[23] Its celestial longitude was 15 Cap. 19 as of 2006.^[24]

References

Weaving goddesses of Japan and elsewhere in the world

Japan has several famous weaving myths: the more significant and well known ones are the Amaterasu sun and weaving goddess, and the Tanabata Star Festival folktale of Orihime, the weaving princess and the cowherder prince Hikoboshi, or alternatively, Orihime and Kengyuu (Nojiri, 1973), thought to have been imported from China during the Heian Era (794-1185),based on the Chinese tale, “Tale: The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid/The Parted Lovers” Excerpted below is the version documented by Renshaw and Ihara’s “Orihime, Kengyuu, and Tanabata: Adapting Chinese Lore to Native Beliefs and Purposes“.

In Japan, the star Vega is often called Orihime Boshi (Weaving Princess Star), and Altair is often called Kengyuu Boshi or Hiko Boshi (Puller of Cows Star). … Members of royalty were, of course, associated with the heavens; Tentei (the emperor) being centered at the North Pole. One day, the emperor’s daughter, Orihime, was sitting beside the river of heaven (Milky Way). She had been weaving because her father, the emperor loved the beautiful clothes that she made. On this particular day, she was very sad because she realized that she had been so busy that she didn’t have time to fall in love. Her father, Tentei, the ruler of the heavens, felt sorry for her and arranged a marriage with Kengyuu (who lived across the river, the Milky Way). Their marriage was one of sweetness and happiness from the start; and everyday thereafter they grew happier and happier. But Tentei became very angry, because in spending so much time in her happy marriage, Orihime was neglecting her weaving. Tentei decided to separate the couple, so he placed them back in their original places, separated by the Milky Way. On only one night of the year would he allow them to meet, the 7th day of the 7th month. Every year on that day, from the mouth of the river (the Milky Way), the boatman (of the moon) comes to ferry Orihime over to her beloved Kengyuu. But if Orihime has not done her weaving to the best of her skills and ability, Tentei may make it rain. When it rains, the boatman will not come (because the river is flooded). However, in such a case, Kasasagi (a group of magpies) may still fly to the Milky Way to make a bridge for Orihime to cross.

Tanabata may be translated as “weaving with the loom (bata) placed on the shelf (tana)”, and the festival celebrates improvement of technical skill and ability. As in China, ancient Japanese added specific values to their wishes that Orihime hone her skills and work hard so that she could meet Kengyuu. In modern celebrations of Tanabata, people throughout Japan write wishes (generally for themselves or relatives) to the kami (deity) Orihime on colorful strips of paper. On the evening of Tanabata, they tie these paper wishes to freshly cut bamboo.

Depending on regions, the Tanabata Star Festivals celebrated on July 7 or August 7 (which is around the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar) in Japan.

Qixi Festival (Chinese: 七夕節), also known as the Qiqiao Festival (Chinese: 乞巧節), is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology.^[1] It falls on the seventh day of the 7th lunar month.^[2]^[3] It is sometimes called the Double Seventh Festival,^[4] the Chinese Valentine's Day,^[5] or the Magpie Festival. This is an important festival, especially for young girls.^[2]

The festival originated from the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and Niulang,^[1]^[6] who were the weaver maid and the cowherd. The tale of The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival since the Han Dynasty.^[7] The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to over 2600 years ago, which was told in a poem from the Classic of Poetry.^[8] The festival inspired Tanabata in Japan and Chilseok in Korea.

Mythology

Niulang and Zhinü

See also: The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd

The general tale is about a love story between Zhinu (the weaver girl, symbolizing Vega) and Niulang (the cowherd, symbolizing Altair).^[1] Their love was not allowed, thus they were banished to opposite sides of the Silver River (symbolizing the Milky Way).^[1]^[9] Once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunited the lovers for one day.^[1] There are many variations of the story.^[1] A variation follows:

A young cowherd, hence Niulang (Chinese: 牛郎; literally "cowherd"), came across a beautiful girl--Zhinü (Chinese: 织女; literally "weavergirl"), the seventh daughter of the Goddess, who just had escaped from boring heaven to look for fun. Zhinü soon fell in love with Niulang, and they got married without the knowledge of the Goddess. Zhinü proved to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang to be a good husband. They lived happily and had two children. But the Goddess of Heaven (or in some versions, Zhinü's mother) found out that Zhinü, a fairy girl, had married a mere mortal. The Goddess was furious and ordered Zhinü to return to heaven. (Alternatively, the Goddess forced the fairy back to her former duty of weaving colorful clouds, a task she neglected while living on earth with a mortal.) On Earth, Niulang was very upset that his wife had disappeared. Suddenly, his ox began to talk, telling him that if he killed it and put on its hide, he would be able to go up to Heaven to find his wife. Crying bitterly, he killed the ox, put on the skin, and carried his two beloved children off to Heaven to find Zhinü. The Goddess discovered this and was very angry. Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratched a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever, thus forming the Milky Way between Altair and Vega. Zhinü must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niulang watches her from afar while taking care of their two children (his flanking stars β and γ Aquilae or by their Chinese names Hè Gu 1 and Hè Gu 3). But once a year all the magpies in the world would take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge (鹊桥, "the bridge of magpies", Que Qiao) over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, which is the seventh night of the seventh moon.

Traditions

Young girls partake in worshiping the celestials (拜仙) during rituals.^[2] They go to the local temple to pray to Zhinü for wisdom.^[3] Paper items are usually burned as offerings.^[10] Girls may also recite traditional prayers for dexterity in needlework,^[3]^[11] which symbolize the traditional talents of a good spouse.^[3] Divination could take place to determine possible dexterity in needlework.^[10] They make wishes for marrying someone who would be a good and loving husband.^[1] During the festival, girls make a display of their domestic skills.^[1] Traditionally, there would be contests amongst young girls who attempted to be the best in treading needles under low-light conditions like the glow of ember or a half moon.^[10] Today, girls sometimes gather toiletries in honor of the seven maidens.^[10]

The festival also held an importance for newly-wed couples.^[2] Traditionally, they would worship the celestial couple for the last time and bid farewell to them (辭仙).^[2] The celebration stood symbol for a happy marriage and showed that the married woman was treasured by her new family.^[2]

During this festival, a festoon is placed in the yard. Single and newly-wed women make offerings to Niulang and Zhinü, which may include fruit, flowers, tea, and face powder. After finishing the offerings, half of the face powder is thrown on the roof and the other half divided among the young women. It is believed that by doing this, the women are bound in beauty with Zhinü. Tales say that it will rain on this fateful day if there's crying in heaven. Other tales say that you can hear the lovers talking if you stand under grapevines on this night.

On this day, the Chinese gaze to the sky to look for Vega and Altair shining in the Milky Way, while a third star forms a symbolic bridge between the two stars.^[7] It was said that if it rains on this day that it was caused by a river sweeping away the magpie bridge, or that the rain is the tears of the separated couple.^[12] Based on the legend of a flock of magpies forming a bridge to reunite the couple, a pair of magpies came to symbolize conjugal happiness and faithfulness.^[13]

In popular culture

Barry Hughart's fantasy novel, Bridge of Birds, is loosely based upon this story, though the two figures are switched. The girl is forced to remain on earth, while her male paramour is in the heavens. She is a peasant girl, and he shepherds the stars.
In the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, the protagonist attends this festival with his female companion and sees the story reenacted in a shadow play.
American post-hardcore band La Dispute's song "Four" is written about an alternative version of this story, with a Great King taking the role of separating the lovers, due to her neglecting her duties at the loom. In this version the lovers are a princess and a shepherd, and it replaces all the mythology in the original story. La Dispute's first LP has a recurring theme of this story, including the album title: Somewhere At the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair.
In Kamen Rider Den-O, the series' second rider, Kamen Rider Zeronos, was based heavily on this legend. His Altair form had the motif of a bull (linking to Altair's occupation as a cowherd), his Vega form uses a spool of thread for the visor (linking to Vega's occupation as a weaver). The sole link between the forms is an imagin called Deneb, linking to the bridge that can reunite the lovers.

Size and composition

Schematic illustration showing the galaxy in profile.

The stellar disk of the Milky Way Galaxy is approximately 100,000 ly (30 kpc) in diameter, and is, on average, about 1,000 ly (0.3 kpc) thick.^[2]^[3] As a guide to the relative physical scale of the Milky Way, if it were reduced to 100 m (110 yd) in diameter, the Solar System, including the hypothesized Oort cloud, would be no more than 1 mm (0.04 in) in width, about the size of a grain of sand. The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, would be 4.2 mm (0.2 in) distant.^{[nb
3]} Alternatively visualized, if the Solar System out to Pluto were the size of a US quarter (25 mm or 1.0 in in diameter), the Milky Way would have a diameter of 2,000 kilometers, an area approximately one-third the size of the United States.^[23]

The Milky Way contains at least 100 billion stars^[24] and may have up to 400 billion stars.^[25]^[26] The exact figure depends on the number of very low-mass, or dwarf stars, which are hard to detect, especially at distances of more than 300 ly (90 pc) from the Sun. As a comparison, the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy contains an estimated one trillion (10¹²) stars.^[27] Filling the space between the stars is a disk of gas and dust called the interstellar medium. This disk has at least a comparable extent in radius to the stars,^[28] while the thickness of the gas layer ranges from hundreds of light years for the colder gas to thousands of light years for warmer gas.^[29]^[30] Both gravitational microlensing and planetary transit observations indicate that there may be at least as many planets bound to stars as there are stars in the Milky Way,^[18]^[31] while microlensing measurements indicate that there are more rogue planets not bound to host stars than there are stars.^[32]^[33] The Milky Way Galaxy contains at least one planet per star, resulting in 100–400 billion planets, according to a January 2013 study of the five-planet star system Kepler-32 with the Kepler space observatory.^[19] A different January 2013 analysis of Kepler data estimated that at least 17 billion Earth-sized exoplanets reside in the Milky Way Galaxy.^[34] Such Earth-sized planets may be more numerous than gas giants.^[18] Besides exoplanets, "exocomets", comets beyond the Solar System, have also been detected and may be common in the Milky Way Galaxy.^[34]

The disk of stars in the Milky Way does not have a sharp edge beyond which there are no stars. Rather, the concentration of stars drops smoothly with distance from the center of the Galaxy. Beyond a radius of roughly 40,000 ly (12 kpc), the number of stars per cubic parsec drops much faster with radius,^[35] for reasons that are not understood. Surrounding the Galactic disk is a spherical Galactic Halo of stars and globular clusters that extends further outward, but is limited in size by the orbits of two Milky Way satellites, the Large and the Small Magellanic Clouds, whose closest approach to the Galactic center is about 180,000 ly (55 kpc).^[36] At this distance or beyond, the orbits of most halo objects would be disrupted by the Magellanic Clouds. Hence, such objects would probably be ejected from the vicinity of the Milky Way. The integrated absolute visual magnitude of the Milky Way is estimated to be −20.9.^[37]

360-degree panorama view of the Milky Way Galaxy (an assembled mosaic of photographs).

Estimates for the mass of the Milky Way vary, depending upon the method and data used. At the low end of the estimate range, the mass of the Milky Way is 5.8×10¹¹ solar masses (M_☉), somewhat smaller than the Andromeda Galaxy.^[38]^[39]^[40] Measurements using the Very Long Baseline Array in 2009 found velocities as large as 254 km/s for stars at the outer edge of the Milky Way.^[41] As the orbital velocity depends on the total mass inside the orbital radius, this suggests that the Milky Way is more massive, roughly equaling the mass of Andromeda Galaxy at 7×10¹¹ M_☉ within 160,000 ly (49 kpc) of its center.^[42] A 2010 measurement of the radial velocity of halo stars finds the mass enclosed within 80 kiloparsecs is 7×10¹¹ M_☉.^[43] Most of the mass of the Galaxy appears to be matter of unknown form which interacts with other matter through gravitational but not electromagnetic forces; this is dubbed dark matter. A dark matter halo is spread out relatively uniformly to a distance beyond one hundred kiloparsecs from the Galactic Center. Mathematical models of the Milky Way suggest that the total mass of the entire Galaxy lies in the range 1–1.5×10¹² M_☉.^[7] Some recent estimates are larger:1.0 - 5.0 ×10¹² M_☉.

_Structure

_{Artist's conception of the spiral structure of the
Milky Way with two major stellar arms and a bar^[44]}

_{A

false-color

infrared image of the core of the Milky Way Galaxy taken
by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Older cool stars are
blue, dust features lit up by large hot stars are shown in a
reddish hue, and the bright white spot in the middle marks
the site of

Sagittarius A*, the super-massive black hole at the
center of the Galaxy.}

_{The Galaxy consists of a bar-shaped core region surrounded by a disk
of

gas, dust and stars. The gas, dust and stars are organized in roughly

logarithmic spiral arm structures (see
Spiral arms
below). The mass distribution within the Galaxy closely resembles the SBc

Hubble classification, which is a spiral galaxy with relatively loosely
wound arms.^[1]
Astronomers first began to suspect that the Milky Way is a

barred spiral galaxy, rather than an ordinary

spiral galaxy, in the 1990s.^[45]
Their suspicions were confirmed by the

Spitzer Space Telescope observations in 2005^[46]
that showed the Galaxy's central bar to be larger than previously suspected.}

_{Galactic Center}

_{Main article:

Galactic Center}

_{The Sun is 8.0–8.7 kpc (26,000–28,000 ly) from the

Galactic Center. This value is estimated based upon

geometric-based methods or using selected astronomical objects that
serve as

standard candles, with different techniques yielding different values
within this approximate range.^[8]^[47]^[48]^[49]^[50]
In the inner few kpc (≈10,000 light-years) is a dense concentration of
mostly old stars in a roughly spheroidal shape called the

bulge.^[51]
It has been proposed that our galaxy lacks a

bulge formed due to a

collision and merger between previous galaxies and that instead has a

pseudobulge formed by its central bar.^[52]}

_{The Galactic Center is marked by an intense

radio source named

Sagittarius A*. The motion of material around the center indicates that
Sagittarius A* harbors a massive, compact object.^[53]
This concentration of mass is best explained as a

supermassive black hole^{[nb
4]}^[8]^[47]
with an estimated mass of 4.1–4.5 million times the
mass of
the Sun.^[47]
Observations indicate that there are supermassive black holes located near
the center of most normal galaxies.^[54]^[55]}

_{The nature of the Galaxy's bar is actively debated, with estimates
for its half-length and orientation spanning from 1–5 kpc (3,300–16,000 ly)
and 10–50 degrees relative to the line of sight from Earth to the Galactic
Center.^[49]^[50]^[56]
Certain authors advocate that the Galaxy features two distinct bars, one
nestled within the other.^[57]
The bar is delineated by
red clump
stars. However,

RR Lyr variables do not trace a prominent Galactic bar.^[50]^[58]^[59]
The bar may be surrounded by a ring called the "5-kpc ring" that contains a
large fraction of the molecular hydrogen present in the Galaxy, as well as
most of the Milky Way's

star formation activity. Viewed from the

Andromeda Galaxy, it would be the brightest feature of our own Galaxy.^[60]}

_{Spiral arms}

_{Outside the gravitational influence of the Galactic bars,
astronomers generally organize the interstellar medium and stars in the disk
of the Milky Way into four spiral arms.^[61]
All of these arms contain more interstellar gas and dust than the Galactic
average as well as a high concentration of star formation, traced by
H II
regions^[62]^[63]
and

molecular clouds.^[64]
Counts of stars in near infrared light indicate that two arms contain
approximately 30% more
red giant
stars than would be expected in the absence of a spiral arm, while two
contain no more red giant stars than regions outside of arms.^[65]^[66]}

_{Maps of the Milky Way's spiral structure are notoriously uncertain
and exhibit striking differences.^[44]^[61]^[63]^[67]^[68]^[69]^[70]^[71]
Some 150 years after Alexander (1852)^[72]
first suggested that the Milky Way was a spiral, there is currently no
consensus on the nature of the Galaxy's spiral arms. Perfect logarithmic
spiral patterns ineptly describe features near the Sun,^[63]^[70]
namely since galaxies commonly exhibit arms that branch, merge, twist
unexpectedly, and feature a degree of irregularity.^[50]^[70]^[71]
The possible scenario of the Sun within a spur / Local arm^[63]
emphasizes that point and indicates that such features are probably not
unique, and exist elsewhere in the Galaxy.^[70]}

_{As in most spiral galaxies, each spiral arm can be described as a

logarithmic spiral. Estimates of the pitch angle of the arms range from
≈7° to ≈25°.^[65]^[73]
Until recently, there were thought to be four major spiral arms which all
start near the Galaxy's center. These are named as follows, with the
positions of the arms shown in the image at right:}

_{Observed (normal lines) and extrapolated (dotted lines)
structure of the spiral arms. The gray lines radiating from the
Sun's position (upper center) list the three-letter
abbreviations of the corresponding constellations.}

Color	Arm(s)
cyan	3-kpc and Perseus Arm
purple	Norma and Outer arm (Along with extension discovered in 2004^[74])
green	Scutum–Centaurus Arm
pink	Carina–Sagittarius Arm
There are at least two smaller arms or spurs, including:
orange	Orion–Cygnus Arm (which contains the Sun and Solar System)

_{Two spiral arms, the Scutum–Centaurus arm and the Carina–Sagittarius
arm, have tangent points inside the Sun's orbit about the center of the
Milky Way. If these arms contain an overdensity of stars compared to the
average density of stars in the Galactic disk, it would be detectable by
counting the stars near the tangent point. Two surveys of near-infrared
light, which is sensitive primarily to red giant stars and not affected by
dust extinction, detected the predicted overabundance in the
Scutum–Centaurus arm but not in the Carina–Sagittarius arm.^[65]^[66]
In 2008, Robert Benjamin of the

University of Wisconsin–Whitewater used this observation to suggest that
the Milky Way possesses only two major stellar arms: the Perseus arm and the
Scutum–Centaurus arm. The rest of the arms contain excess gas but not excess
stars.^[44]}

_{A simulation published in 2011 suggested that the Milky Way may have
obtained its spiral arm structure as a result of repeated collisions with
the

Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy.^[75]}

_{Another interesting aspect is the so-called "wind-up problem" of the
spiral arms. If the inner parts of the arms rotate faster than the outer
part, then the galaxy will wind up so much that the spiral structure will be
thinned out. But this is not what is observed in spiral galaxies; instead,
astronomers propose that the spiral pattern is a

density wave emanating from the Galactic Center. This can be likened to
a moving traffic jam on a highway—the cars are all moving, but there is
always a region of slow-moving cars. This model also agrees with enhanced
star formation in or near spiral arms; the compressional waves increase the
density of molecular hydrogen and protostars form as a result.}

_{Outside of the major spiral arms is the

Monoceros Ring (or Outer Ring), a ring of gas and stars torn from other
galaxies billions of years ago.}

_Halo

_{The Galactic disk is surrounded by a

spheroidal halo of old stars and

globular clusters, of which 90% lie within 100,000 light-years (30 kpc)
of the Galactic Center.^[76]
However, a few globular clusters have been found farther, such as PAL 4 and
AM1 at more than 200,000 light-years away from the Galactic Center. About
40% of the galaxy's clusters are on

retrograde orbits, which means they move in the opposite direction from
the Milky Way rotation.^[77]
The globular clusters can follow

rosette orbits about the Galaxy, in contrast to the

elliptical orbit of a planet around a star.^[78]}

_{The Chandra X-ray Observatory has provided evidence that the halo
contains a large amount of hot gas. The halo extends for hundreds of
thousand of light years. The mass of the halo is estimated to the mass of
the stars in the galaxy. The factors of these depends on the amount of
oxygen to hydrogen.^[79]
The temperature of this halo was said to be between 1 million and 2.5
million kelvin or a few hundred times hotter than the surface of the sun.^[80]}

_{While the disk contains gas and dust which obscure the view in some
wavelengths, the halo component does not. Active

star formation takes place in the disk (especially in the spiral arms,
which represent areas of high density), but does not take place in the halo.

Open clusters also occur primarily in the disk.}

_{Discoveries in the early 21st century have added dimension to the
knowledge of the Milky Way's structure. With the discovery that the disk of
the

Andromeda Galaxy (M31) extends much further than previously thought,^[81]
the possibility of the disk of the Milky Way Galaxy extending further is
apparent, and this is supported by evidence from the 2004 discovery of the
Outer Arm extension of the

Cygnus Arm.^[74]^[82]
With the discovery of the

Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy came the discovery of a ribbon of
galactic debris as the polar orbit of the dwarf and its interaction with the
Milky Way tears it apart. Similarly, with the discovery of the

Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, it was found that a ring of galactic debris
from its interaction with the Milky Way encircles the Galactic disk.}

_{On January 9, 2006,
Mario
Jurić and others of

Princeton University announced that the

Sloan Digital Sky Survey of the northern sky found a huge and diffuse
structure (spread out across an area around 5,000 times the size of a full
moon) within the Milky Way that does not seem to fit within current models.
The collection of stars rises close to perpendicular to the plane of the
spiral arms of the Galaxy. The proposed likely interpretation is that a

dwarf galaxy is merging with the Milky Way. This galaxy is tentatively
named the

Virgo Stellar Stream and is found in the direction of

Virgo about 30,000 light-years (9 kpc) away.^[83]}

_{Observations of distant galaxies indicate that the Universe had
about one-sixth as much
baryonic
(ordinary) matter as dark matter when it was just a few billion years old.
However, only about half of those baryons are accounted for in the modern
Universe based on observations of nearby galaxies like the Milky Way.^[84]
On September 24, 2012, a team of five astronomers working with the

Chandra X-ray Observatory, along with data gathered by the

XMM-Newton, and

Suzaku (satellite) missions, announced that the halo had a mass nearly
equivalent to the baryons in the galaxy itself. They also discovered that it
reaches much farther then previously thought, with new estimates showing
that it extends as far as the Large and Small

Magellanic Clouds.^[85]^[86]
If these findings are confirmed it could be the identity of the missing
baryons around the Milky Way.^[84]}

_{Illustration of the two gigantic X-ray/gamma-ray bubbles
(blue-violet) of the Milky Way (center).}

_{Gamma-ray bubbles}

_{In 2010, two gigantic spherical bubbles of high energy emission were
detected to the north and the south of the Milky Way core, using data of the

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The diameter of each of the bubbles is
about 25,000 light-years (7.7 kpc); they stretch up to

Grus and to

Virgo on the night-sky of the southern hemisphere. Their origin remains
unclear.^[87]^[88]}

_{Sun's location and neighborhood}

_{Diagram of the
Sun
location in the Milky Way Galaxy. The angles represent
longitudes in the

galactic coordinate system.}

_{Diagram of the stars in the Solar neighborhood.}

_{The Sun
is near the inner rim of the Galaxy's
Orion Arm,
within the

Local Fluff of the

Local Bubble, and in the
Gould
Belt, at a distance of 8.33 ± 0.35 kiloparsecs (27,200 ± 1,100 ly) from
the

Galactic Center.^[8]^[47]^[89]
The Sun is currently 5–30 parsecs (16–98 ly) from the central plane of the
Galactic disk.^[90]
The distance between the local arm and the next arm out, the

Perseus Arm, is about 6,500 light-years (2,000 pc).^[91]
The Sun, and thus the Solar System, is found in the

Galactic habitable zone.}

_{There are about 208 stars brighter than

absolute magnitude 8.5 within a sphere with a radius of 15 parsecs
(49 ly) from the Sun, giving a density of one star per 69 cubic parsec, or
one star per 2,360 cubic light-year (from

List of nearest bright stars). On the other hand, there are 64 known
stars (of any magnitude, not counting 4
brown
dwarfs) within 5 parsecs (16 ly) of the Sun, giving a density of about
one star per 8.2 cubic parsec, or one per 284 cubic light-year (from

List of nearest stars), illustrating the fact that most stars are less
bright than absolute magnitude 8.5.^{[citation
needed]}^{[original
research?]}}

_{The Apex of the Sun's Way, or the
solar
apex, is the direction that the Sun travels through space in the Milky
Way. The general direction of the Sun's Galactic motion is towards the star
Vega near the
constellation of

Hercules, at an angle of roughly 60 sky degrees to the direction of the

Galactic Center. The Sun's orbit about the Galaxy is expected to be
roughly elliptical with the addition of perturbations due to the Galactic
spiral arms and non-uniform mass distributions. In addition, the Sun
oscillates up and down relative to the Galactic plane approximately 2.7
times per orbit. This is very similar to how a

simple harmonic oscillator works with no drag force (damping) term.
These oscillations were until recently thought to coincide with

mass lifeform extinction periods on Earth.^[92]
However, a reanalysis of the effects of the Sun's transit through the spiral
structure based on CO data has failed to find a correlation.^[93]}

_{It takes the Solar System about 225–250 million years to complete
one orbit of the Galaxy (a

Galactic year),^[94]
so the Sun is thought to have completed 18–20 orbits during its lifetime and
1/1250 of a revolution since the

origin of humans. The

orbital speed of the Solar System about the center of the Galaxy is
approximately 220 km/s or 0.073% of the speed of light. At this speed, it
takes around 1,400 years for the Solar System to travel a distance of 1
light-year, or 8 days to travel 1 AU (astronomical
unit).^[95]}

_{Galaxy rotation curve for the Milky Way. Vertical axis is
speed of rotation about the

Galactic Center. Horizontal axis is distance from the
Galactic Center in

kpcs. The Sun is marked with a yellow ball. The observed
curve of speed of rotation is blue. The predicted curve based
upon stellar mass and gas in the Milky Way is red. Scatter in
observations roughly indicated by gray bars. The difference is
due to

dark matter.^[20]^[96]^[97]}

_{Galactic rotation}

_{The stars and gas in the Galaxy rotate about its center

differentially, meaning that the rotation period varies with location.
As is typical for spiral galaxies, the distribution of mass in the Milky Way
Galaxy is such that the

orbital speed of most stars in the Galaxy does not depend strongly on
their distance from the center. Away from the central bulge or outer rim,
the typical stellar orbital speed is between 210 and 240 km/s.^[98]
Hence the

orbital period of the typical star is directly proportional only to the
length of the path traveled. This is unlike the situation within the Solar
System, where two-body gravitational dynamics dominate and different orbits
have significantly different velocities associated with them. The

rotation curve (shown in the figure) describes this rotation. Toward the
center of the galaxy the orbit speeds are too low while beyond 7 kpcs the
speeds are too high to match what would be expected from the universal law
of gravitation.}

_{If the Galaxy contained only the mass observed in stars, gas, and
other baryonic
(ordinary) matter, the rotation speed would decrease with distance from the
center. However, the observed curve is relatively flat, indicating that
there is additional mass that cannot be detected directly with

electromagnetic radiation. This inconsistency is attributed to
dark
matter.^[20]
Alternatively, a minority of astronomers propose that a

modification of the law of gravity may explain the observed rotation
curve.^[99]}

_Formation

_{Main article:

Galaxy formation and evolution}

_{The Milky Way began as one or several small overdensities in the
mass distribution in the
Universe
shortly after the
Big Bang.
Some of these overdensities were the seeds of

globular clusters in which the oldest remaining stars in what is now the
Milky Way formed. These stars and clusters now comprise the stellar halo of
the Galaxy. Within a few billion years of the birth of the first stars, the
mass of the Milky Way was large enough so that it was spinning relatively
quickly. Due to

conservation of angular momentum, this led the gaseous interstellar
medium to collapse from a roughly spheroidal shape to a disk. Therefore,
later generations of stars formed in this spiral disk. Most younger stars,
including the Sun, are observed to be in the disk.^[100]^[101]}

_{Since the first stars began to form, the Milky Way has grown through
both

galaxy mergers (particularly early in the Galaxy's growth) and accretion
of gas directly from the Galactic halo.^[101]
The Milky Way is currently accreting material from two of its nearest
satellite galaxies, the

Large and

Small Magellanic Clouds, through the

Magellanic Stream. Direct accretion of gas is observed in

high velocity clouds like the

Smith Cloud.^[102]^[103]
However, properties of the Milky Way such as stellar mass,

angular momentum, and

metallicity in its outermost regions suggest it has suffered no mergers
with large galaxies in the last 10 billion years. This lack of recent major
mergers is unusual among similar spiral galaxies; its neighbour the

Andromeda Galaxy appears to have a more typical history shaped by more
recent mergers with relatively large galaxies.^[104]^[105]}

_{According to recent studies, the Milky Way as well as Andromeda lie
in what in the

galaxy color-magnitude diagram is known as the green valley, a
region populated by galaxies in transition from the blue cloud
(galaxies actively forming new stars) to the red sequence (galaxies
that lack star formation). Star formation activity in green valley galaxies
is slowing as they run out of star-forming gas in the interstellar medium.
In simulated galaxies with similar properties, star formation will typically
have been extinguished within about five billion years from now, even
accounting for the expected, short-term increase in the rate of star
formation due to the collision between both our galaxy and M31.^[106]
In fact, measurements of other galaxies similar to our own suggest it's
among the reddest and brightest spiral galaxies that are still forming new
stars and it's just slightly bluer than the bluest red sequence galaxies.^[107]}

_Age

_{The ages of individual stars in the Milky Way can be estimated by
measuring the abundance of long-lived

radioactive elements such as

thorium-232 and

uranium-238, then comparing the results to estimates of their original
abundance, a technique called

nucleocosmochronology. These yield values of about
12.5 ± 3 billion years (Ga)
for

CS 31082-001^[108]
and 13.8 ± 4 billion years for BD+17° 3248.^[109]^{[not
in citation given]} Once a
white
dwarf star is formed, it begins to undergo radiative cooling and the
surface temperature steadily drops. By measuring the temperatures of the
coolest of these white dwarfs and comparing them to their expected initial
temperature, an age estimate can be made. With this technique, the age of
the globular cluster M4 was estimated as 12.7 ± 0.7
billion years.

Globular clusters are among the oldest objects in the Milky Way Galaxy,
which thus set a lower limit on the age of the galaxy. Age estimates of the
oldest of these clusters gives a best fit estimate of 12.6 billion years,
and a 95% confidence upper limit of 16 billion years.^[110]}

_{In 2007, a star in the galactic halo,
HE
1523-0901, was estimated to be about 13.2 billion years old, ≈0.5
billion years less than the

age of the universe. As the oldest known object in the Milky Way at that
time, this measurement placed a lower limit on the age of the Milky Way.^[6]
This estimate was determined using the UV-Visual Echelle Spectrograph of the

Very Large Telescope to

measure the relative strengths of

spectral lines caused by the presence of
thorium
and other

elements created by the
R-process.
The line strengths yield abundances of different elemental
isotopes,
from which an estimate of the age of the star can be derived using

nucleocosmochronology.^[6]}

_{The age of stars in the galactic
thin disk
has also been estimated using nucleocosmochronology. Measurements of thin
disk stars yield an estimate that the thin disk formed 8.8 ± 1.7 billion
years ago. These measurements suggest there was a hiatus of almost 5 billion
years between the formation of the

galactic halo and the
thin disk.^[111]}

_Environme

_{Diagram of the galaxies in the Local Group relative to
the Milky Way.}

_{The position of the Local Group within the Virgo
Supercluster.}

_{Main articles:

Local Group and

Andromeda–Milky Way collision}

_{The Milky Way and the

Andromeda Galaxy are a

binary system of giant spiral galaxies belonging to a group of 50
closely bound galaxies known as the
Local
Group, itself being part of the

Virgo Supercluster.}

_{Two smaller galaxies and a number of

dwarf galaxies in the Local Group
orbit the
Milky Way. The largest of these is the

Large Magellanic Cloud with a diameter of 20,000 light-years. It has a
close companion, the

Small Magellanic Cloud. The

Magellanic Stream is a peculiar streamer of neutral
hydrogen
gas connecting these two small galaxies. The stream is thought to have been
dragged from the Magellanic Clouds in tidal interactions with the Milky Way.
Some of the

dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way are

Canis Major Dwarf (the closest),

Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy,

Ursa Minor Dwarf,

Sculptor Dwarf,

Sextans Dwarf,

Fornax Dwarf, and

Leo I Dwarf. The smallest Milky Way dwarf galaxies are only 500
light-years in diameter. These include

Carina Dwarf,
Draco
Dwarf, and

Leo II Dwarf. There may still be undetected dwarf galaxies, which are
dynamically bound to the Milky Way, as well as some that have already been
absorbed by the Milky Way, such as

Omega Centauri. Observations through the

Zone of Avoidance are frequently detecting new distant and nearby
galaxies. Some galaxies consisting mostly of gas and dust may also have
evaded detection so far.}

_{In January 2006, researchers reported that the heretofore
unexplained warp in the disk of the Milky Way has now been mapped and found
to be a ripple or vibration set up by the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
as they circle the Galaxy, causing vibrations at certain frequencies when
they pass through its edges.^[112]
Previously, these two galaxies, at around 2% of the mass of the Milky Way,
were considered too small to influence the Milky Way. However, by taking
into account
dark
matter, the movement of these two galaxies creates a wake that
influences the larger Milky Way. Taking dark matter into account results in
an approximately twentyfold increase in mass for the galaxy. This
calculation is according to a computer model made by Martin Weinberg of the

University of Massachusetts Amherst. In this model, the dark matter is
spreading out from the Galactic disk with the known gas layer. As a result,
the model predicts that the gravitational effect of the Magellanic Clouds is
amplified as they pass through the Galaxy.}

_{Current measurements suggest the Andromeda Galaxy is approaching us
at 100 to 140 kilometers per second. The Milky Way may

collide with it in 3 to 4 billion years, depending on the importance of
unknown lateral components to the galaxies' relative motion. If they
collide, individual stars within the galaxies would not collide, but instead
the two galaxies will merge to form a single

elliptical galaxy over the course of about a billion years.^[113]}

_Velocity

_{Although

special relativity states that there is no "preferred"

inertial frame of reference in space with which to compare the Milky
Way, the Galaxy does have a velocity with respect to cosmological

frames of reference.}

_{One such frame of reference is the

Hubble flow, the apparent motions of galaxy clusters due to the

expansion of space. Individual galaxies, including the Milky Way, have

peculiar velocities relative to the average flow. Thus, to compare the
Milky Way to the Hubble flow, one must consider a volume large enough so
that the expansion of the Universe dominates over local, random motions. A
large enough volume means that the mean motion of galaxies within this
volume is equal to the Hubble flow. Astronomers believe the Milky Way is
moving at approximately 630 km per second with respect to this local
co-moving frame of reference.^[114]
The Milky Way is moving in the general direction of the

Great Attractor and other

galaxy clusters, including the

Shapley supercluster, behind it.^[115]
The
Local Group (a cluster of gravitationally bound galaxies containing,
among others, the Milky Way and the

Andromeda Galaxy) is part of a

supercluster called the

Local Supercluster, centered near the

Virgo Cluster: although they are moving away from each other at 967 km/s
as part of the Hubble flow, this velocity is less than would be expected
given the 16.8 million pc distance due to the gravitational attraction
between the Local Group and the Virgo Cluster.^[116]}

_{Another reference frame is provided by the

cosmic microwave background (CMB). The Milky Way is moving at
552 ± 6 km/s^[11]
with respect to the photons of the CMB, toward 10.5

right ascension, −24°

declination (J2000
epoch, near the center of

Hydra). This motion is observed by satellites such as the

Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) as a dipole contribution to
the CMB, as photons in equilibrium in the CMB frame get

blue-shifted in the direction of the motion and
red-shifted
in the opposite direction.^[11]}

_{Etymology
and mytholog}

_{Main articles:

List of names for the Milky Way and

Milky Way (mythology)}

_{In western culture the name "Milky Way" is derived from its
appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the
night sky. The term is a translation of the

Classical Latin via lactea, in turn derived from the

Hellenistic Greek γαλαξίας, short for γαλαξίας κύκλος (pr.
galaktikos kyklos, "milky circle"). The

Ancient Greek γαλαξίας (galaxias), from root γαλακτ-, γάλα (milk) + -ίας
(forming adjectives), is also the root of "galaxy", the name for our, and
later all such, collections of stars.^[15]^[117]^[118]^[119]
The Milky Way "milk circle" was just one of 11 circles the Greeks
identified in the sky, others being the zodiac, the meridian, the horizon,
the equator, the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic
circles, and two colure circles passing through both poles.^[120]}

_{There are many

creation myths around the world which explain the origin of the Milky
Way and give it its name. In

Greek myth, the Milky Way was caused by milk spilt by
Hera when
suckling
Heracles.^[121]
It is also described as the road to mount

Olympus, and the path of ruin made by the chariot of the Sun god
Helios.^[122]}

_{In
Sanskrit and several other

Indo-Aryan languages, the Milky Way is called Akash Ganga
(आकाशगंगा,
Ganges of the heavens); it is held to be sacred in the
Hindu
Puranas
(scriptures), and the Ganges and the Milky Way are considered to be
terrestrial and celestial analogs.^[123]^[124]
Kshira (क्षीर, milk) is an alternative name for the Milky Way
in Hindu texts in Sanskrit.^[125]}

_{Astronomical
histor}

_{See also:

Galaxy#Observation history}

_{The shape of the Milky Way as deduced from star counts by
William Herschel in 1785; the Solar System was assumed near
center}

_{As
Aristotle
(384–322 BC) informs us in

Meteorologica (DK 59 A80), the

Greek philosophers

Anaxagoras (ca. 500–428 BC) and

Democritus (450–370 BC) proposed that the Milky Way might consist of
distant stars.
However, Aristotle himself believed the Milky Way to be caused by "the
ignition of the fiery exhalation of some stars which were large, numerous
and close together" and that the "ignition takes place in the upper part of
the
atmosphere, in the region of the world which is continuous with the
heavenly motions."^[126]
The
Neoplatonist philosopher

Olympiodorus the Younger (c. 495–570 A.D.) criticized
this view, arguing that if the Milky Way were sublunary it should appear
different at different times and places on the Earth, and that it should
have
parallax, which it does not. In his view, the Milky Way was celestial.
This idea would be influential later in the

Islamic world.^[127]}

_{The

Persian astronomer

Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973–1048) proposed that the Milky Way is "a
collection of countless fragments of the nature of
nebulous
stars".^[128]
The
Andalusian astronomer

Avempace (d. 1138) proposed the Milky Way to be made up of many stars
but appears to be a continuous image due to the effect of

refraction in the

Earth's atmosphere, citing his observation of a

conjunction of Jupiter and Mars in 1106 or 1107 as evidence.^[126]

Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (1292–1350) proposed the Milky Way Galaxy to be
"a myriad of tiny stars packed together in the sphere of the fixed stars"
and that these stars are larger than
planets.^[129]}

_{According to Jamil Ragep, the Persian astronomer

Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī (1201–1274) in his Tadhkira writes: "The
Milky Way, i.e. the Galaxy, is made up of a very large number of small,
tightly clustered stars, which, on account of their concentration and
smallness, seem to be cloudy patches. Because of this, it was likened to
milk in color."^[130]}

_{Actual proof of the Milky Way consisting of many stars came in 1610
when

Galileo Galilei used a

telescope to study the Milky Way and discovered that it was composed of
a huge number of faint stars.^[131]
In a treatise in 1755,

Immanuel Kant, drawing on earlier work by

Thomas Wright, speculated (correctly) that the Milky Way might be a
rotating body of a huge number of stars, held together by

gravitational forces akin to the Solar System but on much larger scales.
The resulting disk of stars would be seen as a band on the sky from our
perspective inside the disk. Kant also conjectured that some of the
nebulae
visible in the night sky might be separate "galaxies" themselves, similar to
our own. Kant referred to both our Galaxy and the "extragalactic nebulae" as
"island universes", a term still current up to the 1930s.^[132]}

_{The first attempt to describe the shape of the Milky Way and the
position of the Sun
within it was carried out by

William Herschel in 1785 by carefully counting the number of stars in
different regions of the visible sky. He produced a diagram of the shape of
the Galaxy with the Solar System close to the center.}

_{In 1845,

Lord Rosse constructed a new telescope and was able to distinguish
between elliptical and spiral-shaped nebulae. He also managed to make out
individual point sources in some of these nebulae, lending credence to
Kant's earlier conjecture.^[133]}

_{Photograph of the "Great Andromeda Nebula" from 1899, later
identified as the

Andromeda Galaxy}

_{In 1917,

Heber Curtis had observed the nova
S
Andromedae within the "Great

Andromeda Nebula" (Messier
object M31). Searching the photographic record, he found 11 more
novae. Curtis
noticed that these novae were, on average, 10

magnitudes fainter than those that occurred within our Galaxy. As a
result he was able to come up with a distance estimate of 150,000 parsecs.
He became a proponent of the "island universes" hypothesis, which held that
the spiral nebulae were actually independent galaxies.^[134]
In 1920 the

Great Debate took place between

Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis, concerning the nature of the Milky Way,
spiral nebulae, and the dimensions of the universe. To support his claim
that the Great Andromeda Nebula was an external galaxy, Curtis noted the
appearance of dark lanes resembling the dust clouds in the Milky Way, as
well as the significant

Doppler shift.^[135]}

_{The matter was conclusively settled by

Edwin Hubble in the early 1920s using the Mount Wilson observatory

100 inch (2.5 m) Hooker telescope. With the

light-gathering power of this new telescope he was able to produce

astronomical photographs that resolved the outer parts of some spiral
nebulae as collections of individual stars. He was also able to identify
some

Cepheid variables that he could use as a

benchmark to estimate the distance to the nebulae: proving they were far
too distant to be part of the Milky Way.^[136]
In 1936, Hubble produced a classification system for galaxies that is used
to this day, the

Hubble sequence.^[137]}

_{See also}

	Astronomy portal
	Star portal
	Space portal

_{Baade's Window}
_{Galactic coordinate system}
_{MilkyWay@Home, a distributed computing project that attempts to
generate highly accurate three-dimensional dynamic models of stellar
streams in the immediate vicinity of our Milky Way Galaxy.}
_{NGC
6744, a galaxy thought to closely resemble the Milky Way}
_{Oort constants}

_Notes

_{^ Jay M. Pasachoff in
his text book "Astronomy: From the Earth to the Universe" states the
term Milky Way should refer exclusively to the band of light
that the galaxy forms in the

night sky, while the galaxy should receive the full name
Milky Way Galaxy. See:}
- _{Pasachoff, Jay M. (1994). Astronomy: From the Earth to
  the Universe. Harcourt School. p. 500.
  
  ISBN 0-03-001667-3.}
^ See also Bortle Dark-Sky Scale
^ The scale is 1 mm equals 1 ly.
^ For a photo see: "Sagittarius A*: Milky Way monster stars in cosmic reality show". Chandra X-ray Observatory. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. January 6, 2003. Retrieved 2012-05-20.

Reference

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^ ^a ^b ^c Christian, Eric; Safi-Harb, Samar. "How large is the Milky Way?". NASA: Ask an Astrophysicist. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
^ ^a ^b Rix, Hans-Walter and Bovy, Jo (2013). "The Milky Way's Stellar Disk". Astron. Astrophys. Rev. in press. arXiv:1301.3168.
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^ ^a ^b ^c Koupelis, Theo; Kuhn, Karl F. (2007). In Quest of the Universe. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 492; Figure 16-13. ISBN 0-7637-4387-9.
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Milky Way Galaxy

3D Galaxy Map - a 3D representation of the Milky Way galaxy
Basic Milky Way plan map - includes spiral arms and Orion spur
Milky Way – IRAS (infrared) survey - wikisky.org
Milky Way – H-Alpha survey - wikisky.org
The Milky Way Galaxy - SEDS Messier website
MultiWavelength Milky Way - NASA site with images and VRML models
Milky Way Explorer - images in infrared with radio, microwave and hydrogen-alpha.
Milky Way Panorama (9 billion pixels).
Milky Way Video (02:37) - VISTA IR Telescope Image (October 24, 2012)
Animated tour of the Milky Way, University of South Wales
all-sky map of microwave radiation (Planck (spacecraft) one-year all-sky survey)

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Other	Monoceros Ring Virgo Stream Koposov I Koposov II Segue 3 Willman 1

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WOMAN WITH CHILD:

THE WOMAN WITH CHILD - THE BIRTH IS IMMINENT
www.greatdreams.com/constellations/birth_of_a_new_age.htm‎

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6-4-08 - DREAM - I was working in an apartment complex office as a rental agent. A large group of people came in to rent an apartment. They had seven infants ...
DREAMS OF END OF THE AGE - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes
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They are often associated with goddess figures, such as the Woman With Child in Revelation 12, the pregnant earth goddess "Serpent Skirt" in the Aztec myth, ...
DREAMS ABOUT THE TRIPLE GODDESSES
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This is "The Woman With Child," in Revelation 12, I think. In "Isis Unveiled," vol. 2, Blavatsky said the Woman in Rev. 12 is "Isis." The "little girl," and "washing" is ...
You've visited this page 4 times. Last visit: 6/25/09
THE MOON IS TOO TOO BRIGHT - BACTERIA ON THE MOON
www.greatdreams.com/moon/bacteria.htm‎

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In my view, the Shekinah is the Woman With Child in Revelation 12, wearing a crown of 12 stars, and clothed by the sun, with the moon under her feet.
Revelation 11:11 - Humanity On The Pollen Path - Part II
www.greatdreams.com/11_11b.htm‎

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She is made pregnant by feathers floating down from Heaven, and evil forces try to destroy the unborn child. This is much like the Woman With Child in Rev. 12.
The Symbolism and Spiritual Significance of the Number Three
www.greatdreams.com/three/three.htm‎

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An ideogram that represents a woman with child, from the sign for woman. This sign is ... It is a combination of the signs for woman, man, and woman with child.
You've visited this page 3 times. Last visit: 11/1/10
THE CUT AND BANDED TREE - PART II
www.greatdreams.com/sacred/cut-banded-tree-two.htm‎

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May 9, 2009 – IVP New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity Press. THE WOMAN WITH CHILD IN THE BIBLE ...
TAMASISK - ANGER - FURY - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes
www.greatdreams.com/anger.htm‎

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The earth came to help the woman with child, by swallowing the river which poured out of the mouth of the dragon. When I first read this about five years ago, ...
WOLF SYMBOLISM - PART II - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes
www.greatdreams.com/wolf2.htm‎

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The earth came to help the woman with child, by swallowing the river which poured out of the mouth of the dragon. When I first read this about five years ago, ...
DREAMS AND MYTHOLOGY OF CATS AND OTHER FELINES

www.greatdreams.com/cats/cats.htm‎

The leap to the fourth - Heart chakra seems to be suggested by the twelve stars on the crown of The Woman With Child of Rev. 12:1, and by The New Jerusalem ...

KARMA IN THE BIBLE - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/sacred/karma.htm‎

woman with child in Revelation 12, as does Our Lady of Guadalupe, the miraculous image that appeared on the cloak of an Aztec Indian in 1531, in the same ...
11:11 AND IT'S CONNECTION TO REVELATION 11:11

www.greatdreams.com/11coin2.htm‎

This is indicated in Revelation 12 by the Woman With Child with twelve stars as a crown, and in Revelation 21 by the New Jerusalem, which has twelve gates, ...
THE SYMBOLISM AND SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF 144 and 128 ...

www.greatdreams.com/sacred/144.htm‎

Also interesting, The Woman with Child in Revelation 12 has a crown of 12 stars. The New Jerusalem has 12 gates, angels, jewels and pearls. The symbol of the ...
THE GEMATRIAN THEORY OF THE AGES

www.greatdreams.com/numbers/code-ages/gem14.htm‎

In Revelation, it's the woman with child in Revelation 12 who replaces he ... The woman with child has 12 stars as a crown, indicating this, as does the New ...
Dee Finney's blog April 20, 2012 page 203 THE WARRING CYCLE ...

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012/dee-blog203.html‎

Apr 20, 2012 – The earth came to help the woman with child, by swallowing the river which ... In Revelation, the harlot is replaced by The Woman With Child in ...
DREAMS OF BASEBALL GAMES WITH INTERPRETATION

www.greatdreams.com/baseball.htm‎

To me, this relates to the child of the "Woman With Child" in Revelation 12. It also fits with the Son of Man in Revelation 1:13. The double edged sword issues ...
Humanity On The Pollen Path - Part One

www.greatdreams.com/plpath1.htm‎
After speaking of the woman with child, and the dragon that waits to devour her child, Revelation 12:6 continues . . . "and the woman fled into the wilderness, ...
DREAMS OF THE MOVIE AND TV THEATRES

www.greatdreams.com/theatre.htm‎

They are often associated with goddess figures, such as the Woman With Child in Revelation 12, the pregnant earth goddess "Serpent Skirt" in the Aztec myth, ...
DREAMS OF AWAKENING - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/awaken.htm‎

She is Woman With Child in Revelation 12, in my theory. Ishtar's time in the underworld seems to correspond to the symbolism of the harlot in Revelation 17, and ...
THE BRIDESMAIDS COMETH - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/sacred/bridesmaids-cometh.htm‎
The Woman With Child of Revelation 12 wears a crown of ... are named after the original concept of the planets, that included ... www.greatdreams.com/11coin7.

DREAMS OF SKY EVENTS - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/sky.htm‎

In my view, the Shekinah is the Woman With Child in Revelation 12, wearing a crown of 12 stars, and clothed by the sun, with the moon under her feet.
The Bee-Hive Crop Circle Formation

www.greatdreams.com/crop/bee/bee.htm‎
Jul 26, 2004 – I believe the Woman with Child is related to Mother Goddess figures in many mythologies, such as Isis, Ishtar, Sakti, Sophia, Shekinah, etc.
TWO SUNS - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/twosuns.htm‎

The "large mastiff" in the theory is Canis Major/Sirius/Isis, which corresponds to the Woman With Child in Revelation 12. This is speaking of dreams, visions, ...
CROP CIRCLE FORMATIONS AS CHAKRAS - Part One

www.greatdreams.com/crpchk1.htm‎

Jan 1, 2000 – The energy of the new cycle seems to be represented by The Woman With Child in Revelation 12. She wears a crown of 12 stars.
TIME CYCLE DATABASE - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/time_cycle_database.htm‎

Revelation 12 has the Woman With Child, who is taken to a place for the 3 1/2 time cycle. 1260 days = 3 1/2 years on the Jewish calendar and "a time, .
THE RAINBOW OF CREATION - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/rainbow.htm‎

Dec 27, 1999 – The 12 stars on the crown of the Woman With Child in Revelation 12, and The New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, also suggest the heart chakra.
dreams and articles about royalty, prince william, princess diana

www.greatdreams.com/royalty.htm‎

I believe this is actually a transformation of Kali into her true position as Queen of Heaven, symbolised by the Woman With Child in Revelation
MESSAGE FROM HEAVEN - 3-23-98

www.greatdreams.com/heaven.htm‎

Mar 23, 1998 – In Revelation 12, The woman With Child comes down, wearing a crown of 12 stars. Rev. 12:12 speaks of the devil coming down to earth ...
COINCIDENCE AND 11:11 - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/11coin.htm‎

This is indicated in Revelation 12 by the Woman With Child with twelve stars as a crown, and in Revelation 21 by the New Jerusalem, which has twelve gates, ...
DREAMS - SNAKES - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/snakes2.htm‎

I believe this is actually a transformation of Kali into her true position as Queen of Heaven, symbolised by the Woman With Child in Revelation

Dee Finney's blog September 5, 2012 page 288 THE END OF THE ...

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012-3/dee-blog288.html‎

Sep 5, 2012 – The earth came to help the woman with child, by swallowing the river which ... In Revelation, the harlot is replaced by The Woman With Child in ...
BREAD FROM THE BIBLE - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/sacred/bread_bible.htm‎

Joe Mason states on his CROP CIRCLE FORMATIONS AS CHAKRAS page "The energy of the new cycle seems to be represented by The Woman With Child in ...
19 GREAT WOMEN WRITERS - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/great_women_writers.htm‎

May 17, 2005 – Revelation 12 has the Woman With Child, who is taken to a place for the 3 1/2 ... Revelation 12:1 - "And there appeared a great wonder in ...
REVELATION 9:16 - THE WARRIORS COMETH - ARMEGEDDON

www.greatdreams.com/rev916.htm‎

Jan 10, 2000 – (3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction shall come against them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they ...
the code of carl munck, and ancient gematrian numbers - part four

www.greatdreams.com/gem4.htm‎

The next cycle seems to be related to the number 12, such as the crown of twelve stars worn by the Woman With Child in Revelation 12, the twelve ...
BLUE SPADES - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/blue_spades.html‎

This may be indicated by the twelve stars of the Woman With Child in Revelation 12, and by the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, which has twelve angels, ...
Humanity On The Pollen Path - Part Six

www.greatdreams.com/plpath6.htm‎

Jul 26, 2004 – The Woman With Child in Revelation 12 also seems to symbolise the Goddess. ... The Woman With Child has a crown of twelve stars, perhaps ...
1260 - Chandra Levy Address - The Connection to Revelation?

www.greatdreams.com/sacred/levy.htm‎

Jul 15, 2001 – Revelation 12 has the Woman With Child, who is taken to a place for the 3 1/2 time cycle. 1260 days = 3 1/2 years on the Jewish calendar and ...
COINCIDENCE AND 11:11 - PART IV

www.greatdreams.com/11coin4.htm‎

The great change, symbolically is given as the "death" or end of the harlot/Kali, and the downcoming of The Woman With Child of Revelation
REVELATION OF THE TRUE SATAN

www.greatdreams.com/revblack.htm‎

The student of Lepsius, Champollion, and other Egyptologists will quickly recognize Isis as the "woman with child," "clothed with the Sun and with the Moon ...

The Cycle of Time Number 432 - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/432.htm‎

Also interesting, The Woman with Child in Revelation 12 has a crown of 12 stars. The New Jerusalem has 12 gates, angels, jewels and pearls. The symbol of the ...
ECLIPSE - THE DREAM CONNECTION

www.greatdreams.com/ecpsdrms.htm‎
This seems to point to The Woman With Child in Rev. 12, clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet. The image, called, "Our Lady of Guadalupe," is still ...
Dee Finney's blog December 15, 2012 ALIEN DNA?

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012-3/dee-blog399.html‎

Dec 15, 2012 – This is indicated in Revelation 12 by the Woman With Child with twelve stars as a crown, and in Revelation 21 by the New Jerusalem, which ...
Dee Finney's blog December 30, 2012 PAGE 414 VATICAN ...

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012-3/dee-blog414.html‎

Dec 30, 2012 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not ...
DREAMS OF TREES AND THE TRUTH THEY TELL

www.greatdreams.com/treedrms.htm‎

They are often associated with goddess figures, such as the Woman With Child in Revelation 12, the pregnant earth goddess "Serpent Skirt" in the Aztec myth, ...
COINCIDENCE AND 11:11 - PART III

www.greatdreams.com/11coin3.htm‎

She and all the other Mother Goddesses of many names, I belive, are the same as The Woman with Child in Revelation 12. Some VERY coincidental dreams ...
DREAMS AND VISIONS ABOUT KALI

www.greatdreams.com/kali.htm‎

I believe this is actually a transformation of Kali into her true position as Queen of Heaven, symbolised by the Woman With Child in Revelation 12. We will have ...
EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY, FOR TOMRROW WE DIE

www.greatdreams.com/sacred/eat-drink-be-merry.html‎

Jun 13, 2010 – The energy of the new cycle seems to be represented by The Woman With Child in Revelation 12. She wears a crown of 12 stars. The New ...
The American Tragedy: A Symbolic Event, Part Two

www.greatdreams.com/Events/9_11_01/Amertrg2.htm‎

12:16 the earth came to help the woman with child) One day, while performing her domestic duties, some downy feathers floated down from above. She tucked ...
CROP CIRCLE FORMATIONS AS CHAKRAS - PART 2

www.greatdreams.com/crpchk2.htm‎
Apr 8, 2001 – This may be indicated by the twelve stars of the Woman With Child in Revelation 12, and by the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, which has ...

Communion 2012 - The Stunning Noosphere Meaning - The Cosmic ...

www.greatdreams.com/joestuff/interp/comun/comun.htm‎

May 22, 2008 – The leap to the fourth - Heart chakra seems to be suggested by the twelve stars on the crown of The Woman With Child of Rev. 12:1, and by ...
The Interrelated 2005 Crop Circle Formations - Part Eight

www.greatdreams.com/crop/2005ccs/2005ccs8.htm‎

The leap to the fourth - Heart chakra seems to be suggested by the twelve stars on the crown of The Woman With Child of Rev. 12:1, and by The New Jerusalem ...
Dee Finney's blog September 23, 2012 page 310 THE EYE OF ...

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012-3/dee-blog310.html‎

Sep 23, 2012 – THE WOMAN WITH CHILD - THE BIRTH IS IMMINENT. www.greatdreams.com/constellations/birth_of_a_new_age.htm
COMETS INCOMING - Dreams of the Great Earth Changes

www.greatdreams.com/comets-incoming.htm‎

to the Woman With Child in Revelation 12. This is speaking of dreams, visions, inspirations, etc., the communication from the collective unconscious at the end
THE NEXT POPE - THE ANTI-POPE - THE HANGED MAN

www.greatdreams.com/sacred/hanged-man.htm‎

Sep 30, 2004 – This is the Woman With Child of Revelation 12. The interpretation of the Hanged Man Tarot card given on the above linked Interactive Tree of ...
Dee Finney's blog - March 21, 2012 - page 177 - GOLD BULLET ...

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012/dee-blog177.html‎

Mar 21, 2012 – The earth came to help the woman with child, by swallowing the river which ... In Revelation, the harlot is replaced by The Woman With Child in ...
You visited this page on 6/18/13.
Dee Finney's blog January 26, 2012 page 114 THE MATRIX

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012/dee-blog114.html‎

Jan 26, 2012 – THE WOMAN WITH CHILD - THE BIRTH IS IMMINENT. The way the brain processes "light" as information is closely analogous to the process ...
11:11 - The Audio - Interview of Joseph Mason

www.greatdreams.com/radio/ryan/1111/ryan1111.htm‎

The leap to the fourth - Heart chakra seems to be suggested by the twelve stars on the crown of The Woman With Child of Rev. 12:1, and by The New Jerusalem ...
Dee Finney's blog - April 3, 2012 - page 187 - THE SEXUALITY OF ...

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012/dee-blog187.html‎

Apr 3, 2012 – THE WOMAN WITH CHILD - THE BIRTH IS IMMINENT. www.greatdreams.com/constellations/birth_of_a_new_age.htm
The American Tragedy: A Symbolic Event, Part One

www.greatdreams.com/Events/9_11_01/Amertrag.htm‎

Sep 11, 2001 – The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman [with child], to sweep her away with the flood. But the earth came to the ...

The 2006 Crop Circle Formations - Part One

www.greatdreams.com/crop/2006ccs/2006ccs.htm‎

Jul 28, 2006 – The leap to the fourth - Heart chakra seems to be suggested by the twelve stars on the crown of The Woman With Child of Rev. 12:1, and by ...
DEE FINNEY's BLOG - OCTOBER 1, 2011 PAGE 50 - IOSOUS AND ...

www.greatdreams.com/blog/dee-blog50.html‎

Oct 1, 2011 – (3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction shall come against them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they ...
11:11 COINCIDENCES - DREAMS - EXPERIENCES FROM 2002

www.greatdreams.com/11coin7.htm‎

The Woman With Child of Revelation 12 wears a crown of twelve stars. The New Jerusalem has twelve gates, pearls, angels, and gems. These correspond to ...
Dee Finney\s blog May 27, 2012 page 225 TIME TO SAY GOODBYE ...

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012-2/dee-blog225.html‎

May 27, 2012 – THE WOMAN WITH CHILD - THE BIRTH IS IMMINENT http://www.greatdreams.com/constellations/birth_of_a_new_age.htm
Dee Finney'd blog - December 9, 2011 - page 79 - BOOK OF RULES

www.greatdreams.com/blog/dee-blog79.html‎

Dec 9, 2011 – THE WOMAN WITH CHILD - THE BIRTH IS IMMINENT. Fact is that there are universal laws of order that govern all ... In the biblical book of ...
Dee Finney's blog April 24, 2012 page 205 THE SUN AND PLANET X

www.greatdreams.com/blog-2012/dee-blog205.html‎

Feb 23, 2012 – THE WOMAN WITH CHILD - THE BIRTH IS IMMINENT. Nibiru and probably Planet X and another one - Planet Y? Planet X and Planet Y

THE WOMAN WITH CHILD - THE BIRTH IS IMMINENT

www.greatdreams.com/constellations/birth_of_a_new_age.htm‎

Jun 4, 2008 – The student of Lepsius, Champollion, and other Egyptologists will quickly recognize Isis as the "woman with child," "clothed with the Sun and ...
Isis Unveiled by H. P. Blavatsky, vol 2, ch 10, part 1

www.theosociety.org/pasadena/isis/iu2-10a.htm‎

[[Vol. 2, Page]] 489 A NECESSARY AND LONG-DEFERRED EXPLANATION. quickly recognize Isis as the "woman with child," "clothed with the Sun and with the ...

Universe, Earth and Man: Lecture II: Ancient Wisdom and the new ...

wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA105/English/HC1931/19080805p01.html‎

Isis and the Madonna. ... Before him stood the generating woman, the woman with child, yet who is virgin; the Goddess who in the Lemurian epoch was the ...

~~[PDF]~~
Egypt1: Isis - Fellowship of Isis

www.fellowshipofisis.com/ldr4_isis.pdf‎

quickly recognise Isis as the 'woman with child', 'clothed with the Sun and with the Moon under her feet'. . and. .'two wings of a Great Eagle that she might fly into ...
isis :: Reader comments at Daniel Pipes

www.danielpipes.org/comments/157942‎

Jun 25, 2009 – isis :: Reader comments at Daniel Pipes. ... here that I found that someone mentioned how a friend that he knew was using a woman with child.

Almighty God As The Return Of Isis The Black Virgin & Her ... - Multiply

josephalmighty.multiply.com/.../Almighty-God-As-The-Return-Of-Isis-
Jun 24, 2009 – Almighty God As The Return Of Isis The Black Virgin & Her Firstborn Son .... as travail upon a WOMAN with child; and they shall not escape.
The Birth of Jesus - Virgin Birth - Congregation Orah Saddiqim

www.orahsaddiqim.org/.../The_Birth_of_Jesus_-_Virgin_Birth.shtml‎
The Egyptian God Horus was born of the virgin Isis; as an infant, he was visited by three kings. ... James Moffatt Translation: "...a young woman with child..."

Revelation 12:1-17, The woman and the dragon | Welcome to St ...

www.stmaryslinton.org/node/158‎

There was an Egyptian myth in which the goddess Isis gives birth to the god Horus ... a woman with child and about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, ...

Secret Doctrine-by H.P.Blavatsky - Volume 3- Part 2 of 4

hpb.narod.ru/SecDoctrine3B.htm‎

(Page 129) IT is said in Isis Unveiled that the greatest teachers of divinity ...... “In baptising a woman with child, is the unborn baby also baptised by the fact?

LADY GAGA DOES IT AGAIN

http://mysteryoftheiniquity.com/satans-tunes/lady-gaga-judas/

COLLIDING GALAXIES:

The Andromeda–Milky Way collision is a galaxy collision predicted to occur in about 4 billion years between the two largest galaxies in the Local Group—the Milky Way (which contains the Solar System and Earth) and the Andromeda Galaxy.

Stellar collisions

While the Andromeda Galaxy contains about 1 trillion (10¹²) stars and the Milky Way contains about 300 billion (3×10¹¹), the chance of even two stars colliding is negligible because of the huge distances between the stars. For example, the nearest star to the Sun is Proxima Centauri, about 4.2 light-years (4.0×10¹³ km; 2.5×10¹³ mi) or 30 million (3×10⁷) solar diameters away. If the Sun were a ping-pong ball, Proxima Centauri would be a pea about 1,100 km (680 mi) away, and the Milky Way would be about 30 million km (19 million mi) wide, about ¹⁄₅ the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Although stars are more common near the centres of each galaxy, the average distance between stars is still 160 billion (1.6×10¹¹) km (100 billion mi). That is analogous to one ping-pong ball every 3.2 km (2.0 mi). Thus, it is extremely unlikely that any two stars would collide.

Black hole collisions

The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies each contain a central supermassive black hole, these being Sagittarius A* (ca. 3.6 x 10⁶ solar masses) and an object within the P2 concentration of Andromeda's nucleus (1-2 x 10⁸ solar masses). These black holes will converge near the center of the newly formed galaxy, transferring orbital energy to stars that will be moved to higher orbits by gravitationally interacting with them, in a process that may take millions of years. When they come within one light year of one another, they will emit gravity waves that will radiate further orbital energy until they merge completely. Gas taken up by the combined black hole could create a luminous quasar or an active galactic nucleus. As of 2006, simulations indicated that the future Earth might be brought near the center of the combined galaxy, potentially coming near one of the black holes before being ejected entirely out of the galaxy.

The quasar, if it were to be created at the center of the Andromeda Galaxy, would be visible from Earth, and would be as bright as the Full Moon despite being 10,000 light years away. Its accretion disk would not be visible and it would appear as a blinking star due to atmospheric fluctuations. However, if a quasar were to be created at the center of the Milky Way, it would not be visible due to the dust between Earth and the galactic center. A quasar at the center of the Andromeda Galaxy would be brighter than one at the center of the Milky Way since the black hole at the center of Andromeda is larger than the Milky Way galactic center black hole.

Certainty

Based on data from the Hubble Space Telescope, Milky Way galaxy and Andromeda galaxy are predicted to distort each other with tidal pull in 3.75 billion years, as shown in this illustration.^[4]

Up to 2012, there was no way to know whether the possible collision was definitely going to happen or not.^[9] In 2012, researchers came to the conclusion that the collision is definite after using the Hubble Space Telescope between 2002 and 2010 to track the motion of Andromeda.^[1] Such collisions are relatively common. Andromeda, for example, is believed to have collided with at least one other galaxy in the past,^[10] and several dwarf galaxies such as SagDEG are currently colliding with the Milky Way and being merged into it.

These studies also suggest that M33, the Triangulum Galaxy – the third largest and brightest galaxy of the Local Group – will participate in this event. Its most likely fate is to end up orbiting the merger remnant of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies to merge with it in an even farther future, but a collision with the Milky Way before our galaxy collides with M31 or being ejected from the Local Group cannot be ruled out.^[11]

The fate of the Solar System

Two scientists with the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics stated that when, and even whether, the two galaxies collide will depend on Andromeda's transverse velocity.^[2] Based on current calculations they predict a 50% chance that in a merged galaxy the solar system will be swept out three times farther from the galactic core than it is currently located.^[2] They also predict a 12% chance that the Solar System will be ejected from the new galaxy some time during the collision.^[12] Such an event would have no adverse effect on the system and the chances of any sort of disturbance to the Sun or planets themselves may be remote.^[12]^[13]

Without intervention, by the time that the two galaxies collide, the surface of the Earth will have already become far too hot for liquid water to exist, ending all terrestrial life, which is currently estimated to occur in about 1.4 billion years due to gradually increasing luminosity of the Sun.^[14]^[15]

Possible triggered stellar events

When two spiral galaxies collide, the hydrogen present on their disks is compressed producing strong star formation as can be seen on interacting systems like the Antennae Galaxies. In the case of the Andromeda–Milky Way collision, it's believed that there will be little gas remaining in the disks of both galaxies, so the mentioned starburst will be relatively weak, though it still may be enough to form a quasar.^[13]

Merger remnant

The galaxy product of the collision has been nicknamed Milkomeda or Milkdromeda. According to simulations, this object will look like a giant elliptical galaxy, but with a center showing less stellar density than current elliptical galaxies.^[13]

In the far future the remaining galaxies of the Local Group will coalesce into this object, being the final evolutionary stage of our group of galaxies.^[16]

Comments:	Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters
Subjects:	Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
Cite as:	arXiv:1211.6055 [astro-ph.SR]
	(or arXiv:1211.6055v2 [astro-ph.SR] for this version)

Resolving Vega and the inclination controversy with CHARA/MIRC

Submission history

Fixed and wandering stars

Stars and astrological degrees

Stars in sidereal and tropical astrology

Zodiac

Non-zodiac constellations in astrology

Astrological meteors

Use

Specific fixed stars

Aldebaran

Algol

Gienah

Procyon

Sirius

Vega

References

See also

External links

Mythology

Traditions

In popular culture

See also

Size and composition

Structure

Galactic Center

Spiral arms

Halo

Gamma-ray bubbles

Sun's location and neighborhood

Galactic rotation

Formation

Age

Environme

Velocity

Etymology and mytholog

Astronomical histor

See also

Notes

Reference

Further reading

External links

Stellar collisions

Black hole collisions

Certainty

The fate of the Solar System

Possible triggered stellar events

Merger remnant

_Structure

_{Galactic Center}

_{Spiral arms}

_Halo

_{Gamma-ray bubbles}

_{Sun's location and neighborhood}

_{Galactic rotation}

_Formation

_Age

_Environme

_Velocity

_{Etymology
and mytholog}

_{Astronomical
histor}

_{See also}

_Notes