Early astronomers thought the Milky Way was a spiral galaxy much like the nearby Andromeda Galaxy. Nowadays there’s a lot of discussion about the exact shape of the Milky Way, however. It is a spiral type galaxy but what the exact shape is still under debate. read more
Our Sun (a star) and all the planets around it are part of a galaxy known as the Milky Way Galaxy. A galaxy is a large group of stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The Milky Way is a large barred spiral galaxy. All the stars we see in the night sky are in our own Milky Way Galaxy. read more
Shape of the Milky Way Galaxy Shaped somewhat like a pin wheel with spiral arms, and our solar system is in one of these spiral arms roughly half way from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. roughly 25,000 light years away. read more