2MilkyWay

__ media type="custom" key="3474134"Exploring the Milky way __ __Description__ The Milky Way is the Galaxy which is the home of our solar system together with atleast 200 billion other stars. Milky Way is actually a giant, as its mass is probably between 750 billion and one trillion solar masses. The Milky Way is simply the common name for our galaxy that encompasses our solar system. The phrase Milky Way came from the band of white light that can be seen across the celestial sphere visible from the Earth. The Discovery of the Milky Way is credited to ancient Greek Philospher Democitus. The Milky Way is approximatley 13 billion years of age. Our glaxay is just one of millions of other giant glaxaies. The Circumference of the Milky Way 250-300 thousand light years. The Main body contains 200-400 billion stars, and the mass is about one trillion solar masses. All object revolve around the center of the Milky Way.

__Viewed From Earth__ The Milky Way viewed from Earth appears as a hazy band of light across the celestial sphere. The Milky Way looks the brightest of the constillation of Sagrittius, toward the galatic center. __Size__ The stellar disk of the Milky way is approximatley 100,000 light years in diameter, and on average 1,000 light years thick. Extending from the stellar disk is a much thicker disk of gas, which is believed to be atleast 12,000 light years. __Structure__ The Galaxy consists of a bar-shaped core region surrounded by a disck of gas, dust and stars forming four arm structures going outwards.
 * The galantic disc, which bulges outward at the galantic center, has a diameter between 70,000 and 100,000 light years
 * The galantic center compacts objects of very large mass as determined by the notion of material in the center
 * The spiral arms described as logarithmic spiral have a pitch of about 12 degrees
 * There are four major spiral arms at the center of the Galaxy, Perseus, Norma & Cygnus, Scutum-crux, and Carina & Sagittarius.
 * Outside the Major arms is the outer rings that contain of gases and torn stars from other galaxies billions of years ago this is called the Monoceros Ring
 * The galantic disk is surrounded by a spheroid halo of old stars and globular clusters

__Mythology__ Acorrding to ancient greek mythology the Milky Way was formed by the milk of Hera, which flowed when she relaized that you was giving the milk to Hermes and thrust him away. But it also says that the Milky Way was commemorates the milk of Hera with which she was to feed Dionysus in order to heal his madness.

__Facts__


 * The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, with a flat disk, central bulge and bar, and a spherical halo.
 * Disc contains stars, gas and dust
 * The Halo contains stars and globular clusters
 * we use the Doppler Shift to measure the velocities of stars and gas clouds in the disk of the Milky Way, and in the Halo
 * The Disk is rotating
 * The sun orbits the center of the Galaxy once ever 220 million years (been around the Galaxy 20 times)