Our galaxy is called the Milky Way because it appears as a milky band of light in the sky when you see it in a really dark area. Tell me more about galaxies It is very difficult to count the number of stars in the Milky Way from our position inside the galaxy. read more
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey for instance report that outside of the Galaxy there are huge clumps of stars that appear to be the remains of smaller galaxies that were ripped apart by the Milky Way more than a billion years ago. read more