Galactic years and our cosmic speed

The Milky Way galaxy

Chapter 1

Mapping our cosmic neighborhood

Chapter 2

The monster at the center

Chapter 3

The Milky Way in human culture

Chapter 4

The fate of our galactic home

YOUR GOAL

Master of The Milky Way galaxy

Ch 1 · Mapping our cosmic neighborhood

artiteacher The invisible halo of dark matter

artiteacher Mapping our cosmic neighborhood

Inside the Local Bubble, the Local Bubble / Stars are born right on the edge!

artiteacher The grand scale of the galactic disk

The invisible halo of dark matter

artiteacher Most of the Milky Way's mass is made of mysterious, invisible dark matter.

The grand scale of the galactic disk

artiteacher The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy spanning over 100,000 light-years across.

Our Cosmic Backyard

BETA

artiteacher Sort cosmic neighbors by distance to discover our solar system's place in the Milky Way.

Fun Fact

Galactic speed: Our solar system has only completed about 20 orbits around the Milky Way since the Sun formed 4.6 billion years ago.

Gossip

Which galactic neighborhood name sounds coolest?

Quiz

How wide is the main stellar disk of the Milky Way galaxy?

artiteacher Finding our address in the Orion Arm

Quiz

Approximately how many years does it take the solar system to orbit the Milky Way center once?

artiteacher Galactic years and our cosmic speed

Quiz

In which specific spiral arm of the Milky Way is our solar system located?

Quiz

How fast is our solar system traveling as it orbits the galactic center?

Quiz

Approximately how far is Earth's solar system from the center of the Milky Way?

Quiz

How thick is the stellar disk of the Milky Way galaxy on average?

Quiz

What percentage of the Milky Way's mass is estimated to consist of invisible dark matter?

Quiz

What type of galaxy is the Milky Way classified as by astronomers?