Galaxy

The Milky Way, or Galaxy, was interpreted by Thomas Wright in 1750 and William Herschel in 1784 as an optical phenomenon due to the stars being arranged in a shallow layer with the sun near the sun's median plane.

only one of about 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe

If that doesn’t blow your mind, the Milky Way is only one of about 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe.

a galaxy

The Milky Way is a galaxy which is very huge and contains the solar system.

a spiral galaxy where our Solar System and Earth are located

Milky Way: The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy where our Solar System and Earth are located.

a galaxy of stars

Milky way is a galaxy of stars that stretches like a band across the sky.

a spiral galaxy consisting of approximately 200 – 400 billion stars, gravitationally bound in a spiral shape with a bulging central core

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy consisting of approximately 200 – 400 billion stars, gravitationally bound in a spiral shape with a bulging central core.

our galaxy

The Milky Way symbolises our galaxy, the location of the Earth and our Solar system.

a spiral galaxy with our solar system position near the outer rim of the disc

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy with our solar system position near the outer rim of the disc.

our home galaxy

If you see something that looks like a light gray cloud stretching across the sky – that’s the Milky Way – our home galaxy.

a spiral galaxy with a spiral galaxy's arms spiraling outward

The Milky Way is actually a spiral galaxy with a spiral galaxy's arms spiraling outward.

a spiral galaxy, in which stars and gas clouds exist mainly in stars and gas clouds's two spiral “arms

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, in which stars and gas clouds exist mainly in stars and gas clouds's two spiral "arms.

a galaxy in the Local Group

The Milky Way, called Avalon by the Ancients (a translation of the Latin Via Lactea, in turn derived from the Greek Galaxia Kuklos), is a galaxy in the Local Group.

one of many disk galaxies with spiral armselongated and curved collections of gas and stars , that snake outward from a dense galactic center

The Milky Way is one of many disk galaxies with spiral arms, elongated and curved collections of gas and stars that snake outward from a dense galactic center.

minor galaxy

The Milky Way is a minor galaxy amongst the 1,000,000's and counting, other galaxies in the universe, complete with billions of Solar systems and all are sited in our known and, apparently, expanding universe.

a spiral galaxy, with the youngest and most massive stars collected in arms that curl around the galactic center

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, with the youngest and most massive stars collected in arms that curl around the galactic center.

a spiral galaxy, with a flat disk of stars, gas, and dust

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, with a flat disk of stars, gas, and dust.

our own host galaxy containing our solar system and visible as a band of light in the night sky

The Milky Way is our own host galaxy containing our solar system and visible as a band of light in the night sky.

a spiral galaxy, which means that it is composed, among other components, of a diskc of stars, gas and dust, in which the spiral arms are contained

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, which means that it is composed, among other components, of a diskc of stars, gas and dust, in which the spiral arms are contained.

a spiral galaxy often depicted as a flat, even disk

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy often depicted as a flat, even disk.

a spiral galaxy that resembles a spinning pinwheel

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy that resembles a spinning pinwheel.