Milky Way - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

10/29/2015
MilkyWayWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
MilkyWay
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
Thisarticleisaboutthegalaxy.Forotheruses,seeMilkyWay(disambiguation).
TheMilkyWayisagalaxythatcontainsourSolar
System.[18][19][20][nb1]Itsname"milky"isderived
fromitsappearanceasadimglowingbandarching
acrossthenightskywhoseindividualstarscannotbe
distinguishedbythenakedeye.Theterm"Milky
Way"isatranslationoftheLatinvialactea,fromthe
Greek(galaxaskklos,"milky
circle").[21][22][23]FromEarththeMilkyWayappears
asabandbecauseitsdiskshapedstructureisviewed
fromwithin.GalileoGalileifirstresolvedthebandof
lightintoindividualstarswithhistelescopein1610.
Untiltheearly1920smostastronomersthoughtthat
theMilkyWaycontainedallthestarsintheUniverse.
Followingthe1920GreatDebatebetweenthe
astronomersHarlowShapleyandHeberCurtis,[24]
observationsbyEdwinHubbleshowedthattheMilky
Wayisjustoneofmanygalaxiesnowknownto
numberinthebillions.[25]
TheMilkyWayisabarredspiralgalaxythathasa
diameterusuallyconsideredtoberoughly100,000
120,000lightyears[26]butmaybe150,000180,000
lightyears.[27]TheMilkyWayisestimatedtocontain
200400billionstars,[28]althoughthisnumbermaybe
ashighasonetrillion.[29]Thereareprobablyatleast
100billionplanetsintheMilkyWay.[30][31]TheSolar
Systemislocatedwithinthedisk,about27,000light
yearsfromtheGalacticCenter,ontheinneredgeof
oneofthespiralshapedconcentrationsofgasand
dustcalledtheOrionArm.Thestarsintheinner
10,000lightyearsformabulgeandoneormore
barsthatradiatefromthebulge.Theverycenteris
markedbyanintenseradiosource,namedSagittarius
A*,whichislikelytobeasupermassiveblackhole.
Starsandgasesatawiderangeofdistancesfromthe
GalacticCenterorbitatapproximately220kilometers
persecond.Theconstantrotationspeedcontradicts
thelawsofKepleriandynamicsandsuggeststhat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way
MilkyWayGalaxy
TheMilkyWay'sGalacticCenterinthe
nightskyaboveParanalObservatory
(thelasercreatesaguidestarforthetelescope).
Observationdata
Type
Sb,Sbc,orSB(rs)bc[1][2](barredspiral
galaxy)
Diameter
100180kly(3155kpc)[3]
Thickness 2kly(0.6kpc)[4][5]
ofthin
stellardisk
Numberof 200400billion(3101111011)[6][7][8]
stars
Oldest
13.7Gyr[9]
knownstar
Mass
0.81.5 1012M[10][11][12]
Angular
1 1067Js[13]
momentum
Sun's
27.21.1kly(8.340.34kpc)[14]
distanceto
Galactic
Center
Sun's
Galactic
240Myr[15]
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muchofthemassoftheMilkyWaydoesnotemitor
absorbelectromagneticradiation.Thismasshasbeen
giventhename"darkmatter".[32]Therotational
periodisabout240millionyearsatthepositionofthe
Sun.[15]TheMilkyWayasawholeismovingata
velocityofapproximately600kmpersecondwith
respecttoextragalacticframesofreference.The
oldeststarsintheMilkyWayarenearlyasoldasthe
Universeitselfandthusmusthaveformedshortly
aftertheBigBang.[9]
TheMilkyWayhasseveralsatellitegalaxiesandis
partoftheLocalGroupofgalaxies,whichisa
componentoftheVirgoSupercluster,whichagainisa
componentoftheLaniakeaSupercluster.[33][34]
Contents
1Appearance
2Sizeandmass
3Contents
4Structure
4.1Galacticquadrants
4.2GalacticCenter
4.3Spiralarms
4.4Halo
4.4.1Gaseoushalo
4.5Sunslocationandneighborhood
4.6Galacticrotation
5Formation
5.1Age
6Environment
7Velocity
8Etymologyandmythology
9Astronomicalhistory
10Seealso
11Notes
12References
13Furtherreading
14Externallinks
rotation
period
Spiral
pattern
rotation
period
220360Myr[16]
Bar
pattern
rotation
period
100120Myr[16]
Speed
5526km/s[17]
relativeto
CMBrest
frame
Escape
550km/s[12]
velocityat
Sun's
position
Dark
matter
densityat
Sun's
position
+0.0024
+0.08
0.00880.0018 Mpc3or0.350.07 GeV

cm3[12]
Seealso:Galaxy,Listofgalaxies
Appearance
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The"MilkyWay"canbeseenasahazybandofwhitelightsome30degreeswidearcingacrossthesky.[35]
Althoughalltheindividualnakedeyestarsintheentireskyarepart
oftheMilkyWay,[36]thelightinthisbandoriginatesfromthe
accumulationofunresolvedstarsandothermateriallocatedinthe
directionofthegalacticplane.Darkregionswithintheband,suchas
theGreatRiftandtheCoalsack,areareaswherelightfromdistant
starsisblockedbyinterstellardust.Theareaoftheskyobscuredby
theMilkyWayiscalledtheZoneofAvoidance.
TheMilkyWayhasarelativelylowsurfacebrightness.Itsvisibility
canbegreatlyreducedbybackgroundlightsuchaslightpollutionor
straylightfromtheMoon.Theskyneedstobedarkerthanabout
20.2magnitudepersquarearcsecondinorderfortheMilkyWayto
beseen.[37]Itshouldbevisiblewhenthelimitingmagnitudeis
approximately+5.1orbetterandshowsagreatdealofdetailat
+6.1.[38]ThismakestheMilkyWaydifficulttoseefromany
brightlyliturbanorsuburbanlocation,butveryprominentwhen
viewedfromaruralareawhentheMoonisbelowthehorizon.[nb2]
AviewoftheMilkyWaytowardthe
AsviewedfromEarth,thevisibleregionoftheMilkyWay's
constellationSagittarius(including
Galacticplaneoccupiesanareaoftheskythatincludes30
theGalacticCenter)asseenfroman
constellations.[39]ThecenteroftheGalaxyliesinthedirectionof
areanotpollutedbylight(theBlack
theconstellationSagittariusitisherethattheMilkyWayis
RockDesert,Nevada)
brightest.FromSagittarius,thehazybandofwhitelightappearsto
passaroundtotheGalacticanticenterinAuriga.Thebandthen
continuestherestofthewayaroundthesky,backtoSagittarius.Thebanddividesthenightskyintotwo
roughlyequalhemispheres.
TheGalacticplaneisinclinedbyabout60degreestotheecliptic(theplaneofEarth'sorbit).Relativetothe
celestialequator,itpassesasfarnorthastheconstellationofCassiopeiaandasfarsouthastheconstellation
ofCrux,indicatingthehighinclinationofEarthsequatorialplaneandtheplaneoftheecliptic,relativeto
theGalacticplane.ThenorthGalacticpoleissituatedatrightascension12h49m,declination+27.4
(B1950)nearComaeBerenices,andthesouthGalacticpoleisnearSculptoris.Becauseofthishigh
inclination,dependingonthetimeofnightandyear,thearcofMilkyWaymayappearrelativelylowor
relativelyhighinthesky.Forobserversfromapproximately65degreesnorthto65degreessouthonEarth's
surface,theMilkyWaypassesdirectlyoverheadtwiceaday.
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TheMilkyWayarchingatahighinclinationacrossthenightsky(fisheyemosaicshotatParanal,
Chile).
Sizeandmass
TheMilkyWayisthesecondlargestgalaxyintheLocalGroup,
withitsstellardiskapproximately100,000ly(30kpc)indiameter,
and,onaverage,approximately1,000ly(0.3kpc)thick.[4][5]Asa
guidetotherelativephysicalscaleoftheMilkyWay,iftheSolar
SystemouttoNeptunewerethesizeofaUSquarter(25mm),the
MilkyWaywouldbeapproximatelythesizeoftheUnitedStates.[41]
AringlikefilamentofstarswrappingaroundtheMilkyWaymay
actuallybelongtotheMilkyWayitself,ripplingaboveandbelow
therelativelyflatgalacticplane.[27]Ifso,thatwouldmeana
diameterof150,000180,000lightyears(4655kpc).[42]
AphotographofgalaxyNGC6744,
whichmightresembletheMilky
Estimatesofthemassofthe
MilkyWayvary,depending
Way. [40]
uponthemethodanddataused.
Atthelowendoftheestimate
range,themassoftheMilkyWayis5.8 1011solarmasses(M),
SchematicprofileoftheMilky
Way
somewhatlessthanthatoftheAndromedaGalaxy.[43][44][45]
MeasurementsusingtheVeryLongBaselineArrayin2009found
velocitiesaslargeas254km/sforstarsattheouteredgeoftheMilky
Way.[46]Becausetheorbitalvelocitydependsonthetotalmassinside
theorbitalradius,thissuggeststhattheMilkyWayismoremassive,
roughlyequalingthemassofAndromedaGalaxyat7 1011Mwithin
160,000ly(49kpc)ofitscenter.[47]In2010,ameasurementofthe
radialvelocityofhalostarsfindsthatthemassenclosedwithin80
11
[48]
kiloparsecsis7 10 M. Accordingtoastudypublishedin2014,themassoftheentireMilkyWayis
estimatedtobe8.5 1011M,[49]whichisabouthalfthemassoftheAndromedaGalaxy.[49]
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MostofthemassoftheMilkyWayappearstobedarkmatter,anunknownandinvisibleformofmatterthat
interactsgravitationallywithordinarymatter.Adarkmatterhaloisspreadoutrelativelyuniformlytoa
distancebeyondonehundredkiloparsecsfromtheGalacticCenter.MathematicalmodelsoftheMilkyWay
suggestthatitstotalmassis11.5 1012M.[10]Morerecentstudiesindicateamassaslargeas
4.5 1012M[50]andassmallas0.8 1012M.[51]
ThetotalmassofallthestarsintheMilkyWayisestimatedtobebetween4.6 1010M[52]and
6.43 1010M.[10]Inadditiontothatmassinstars,there'sbetween10%[53]and15%[54]ofitintheformof
gas(90%ofhydrogenand10%ofheliumbymass,[54]withtwothirdsoftheformerinatomicformandthe
remainingonethirdinmolecularform[53]),aswellasan1%ofthetotalgasmassintheformofinterstellar
dust.[54]
Contents
Furtherinformation:Exoplanet
TheMilkyWaycontainsbetween200and400billionstars[55][56]andatleast100billionplanets.[57]The
exactfiguredependsonthenumberofverylowmass,ordwarfstars,whicharehardtodetect,especiallyat
distancesofmorethan300ly(90pc)fromtheSun.Asacomparison,theneighboringAndromedaGalaxy
containsanestimatedonetrillion(1012)stars.[58]Fillingthespacebetweenthestarsisadiskofgasand
dustcalledtheinterstellarmedium.Thisdiskhasatleastacomparableextentinradiustothestars,[59]
whereasthethicknessofthegaslayerrangesfromhundredsoflightyearsforthecoldergastothousandsof
lightyearsforwarmergas.[60][61]
ThediskofstarsintheMilkyWaydoesnothaveasharpedgebeyondwhichtherearenostars.Rather,the
concentrationofstarsdecreaseswithdistancefromthecenteroftheMilkyWay.Forreasonsthatarenot
understood,beyondaradiusofroughly40,000ly(13kpc)fromthecenter,thenumberofstarspercubic
parsecdropsmuchfasterwithradius.[62]SurroundingthegalacticdiskisasphericalGalacticHaloofstars
andglobularclustersthatextendsfurtheroutwardbutislimitedinsizebytheorbitsoftwoMilkyWay
satellites,theLargeandSmallMagellanicClouds,whoseclosestapproachtotheGalacticCenterisabout
180,000ly(55kpc).[63]Atthisdistanceorbeyond,theorbitsofmosthaloobjectswouldbedisruptedby
theMagellanicClouds.Hence,suchobjectswouldprobablybeejectedfromthevicinityoftheMilkyWay.
TheintegratedabsolutevisualmagnitudeoftheMilkyWayisestimatedtobearound20.9.[64][65][a]
Bothgravitationalmicrolensingandplanetarytransitobservationsindicatethattheremaybeatleastas
manyplanetsboundtostarsastherearestarsintheMilkyWay,[30][66]andmicrolensingmeasurements
indicatethattherearemorerogueplanetsnotboundtohoststarsthantherearestars.[67][68]TheMilkyWay
containsatleastoneplanetperstar,resultingin100400billionplanets,accordingtoaJanuary2013study
ofthefiveplanetstarsystemKepler32withtheKeplerspaceobservatory.[31]AdifferentJanuary2013
analysisofKeplerdataestimatedthatatleast17billionEarthsizedexoplanetsresideintheMilkyWay.[69]
OnNovember4,2013,astronomersreported,basedonKeplerspacemissiondata,thattherecouldbeas
manyas40billionEarthsizedplanetsorbitinginthehabitablezonesofSunlikestarsandreddwarfs
withintheMilkyWay.[70][71][72]11billionoftheseestimatedplanetsmaybeorbitingSunlikestars.[73]The
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nearestsuchplanetmaybe12lightyearsaway,accordingtoscientists.[70][71]SuchEarthsizedplanetsmay
bemorenumerousthangasgiants.[30]Besidesexoplanets,"exocomets",cometsbeyondtheSolarSystem,
havealsobeendetectedandmaybecommonintheMilkyWay.[69]
Structure
TheMilkyWayconsistsofabarshapedcoreregionsurroundedby
adiskofgas,dustandstars.Thegas,dustandstarsareorganizedin
roughlylogarithmicspiralarmstructures(seeSpiralarmsbelow).
ThemassdistributionwithintheMilkyWaycloselyresemblesthe
typeSBcintheHubbleclassification,whichrepresentsspiral
galaxieswithrelativelylooselywoundarms.[1]Astronomersfirst
begantosuspectthattheMilkyWayisabarredspiralgalaxy,rather
thananordinaryspiralgalaxy,inthe1990s.[76]Theirsuspicions
wereconfirmedbytheSpitzerSpaceTelescopeobservationsin
2005[77]thatshowedtheMilkyWay'scentralbartobelargerthan
previouslythought.
Galacticquadrants
Mainarticle:Galacticquadrant
Anartist'simpressionthatshowshow
theMilkyWaywouldlookfromvery
differentperspectivesthanfrom
Earth.Fromsomeanglesthecentral
bulgeshowsupasapeanutshaped
glowingballofstarsandfromabove
thecentralnarrowbarappears
clearly.Themanyspiralarmsand
theirassociateddustcloudsarealso
clearlyseen.
Agalacticquadrant,orquadrantoftheMilkyWay,referstooneof
fourcircularsectorsinthedivisionoftheMilkyWay.Inactual
astronomicalpractice,thedelineationofthegalacticquadrantsisbaseduponthegalacticcoordinate
system,whichplacestheSunastheoriginofthemappingsystem.[78]
Quadrantsaredescribedusingordinalsforexample,"1stgalacticquadrant",[79]"secondgalactic
quadrant",[80]or"thirdquadrantoftheMilkyWay".[81]Viewingfromthenorthgalacticpolewith0degrees
()astheraythatrunsstartingfromtheSunandthroughtheGalacticCenter,thequadrantsareasfollows:
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1stgalacticquadrant0longitude()90[82]
2ndgalacticquadrant90180[80]
3rdgalacticquadrant180270[81]
4thgalacticquadrant270360(0)[79]
GalacticCenter
Mainarticle:GalacticCenter
TheSunis26,00028,000ly(8.08.6kpc)fromtheGalactic
Center.Thisvalueisestimatedusinggeometricbasedmethodsor
bymeasuringselectedastronomicalobjectsthatserveasstandard
candles,withdifferenttechniquesyieldingvariousvalueswithin
thisapproximaterange.[14][83][84][85][86]Intheinnerfewkpc(around
10,000lightyearsradius)isadenseconcentrationofmostlyold
starsinaroughlyspheroidalshapecalledthebulge.[87]Ithasbeen
proposedthattheMilkyWaylacksabulgeformedduetoa
collisionandmergerbetweenpreviousgalaxiesandthatinsteadhas
apseudobulgeformedbyitscentralbar.[88]
TheGalacticCenterismarkedbyanintenseradiosourcenamed
SagittariusA*(pronouncedSagittariusAstar).Themotionof
materialaroundthecenterindicatesthatSagittariusA*harborsa
massive,compactobject.[89]Thisconcentrationofmassisbest
explainedasasupermassiveblackhole[nb3][14][83](SMBH)withan
estimatedmassof4.14.5milliontimesthemassoftheSun.[83]The
rateofaccretionoftheSMBHisconsistentwithaninactivegalactic
nucleus,beingestimatedataround1 105My1.[90]
ObservationsindicatethatthereareSMBHlocatednearthecenter
ofmostnormalgalaxies.[91][92]
ThenatureoftheMilkyWay'sbarisactivelydebated,with
estimatesforitshalflengthandorientationspanningfrom1to
5kpc(3,00016,000ly)and1050degreesrelativetothelineof
sightfromEarthtotheGalacticCenter.[85][86][93]Certainauthors
advocatethattheMilkyWayfeaturestwodistinctbars,onenestled
withintheother.[94]However,RRLyrvariablesdonottracea
prominentGalacticbar.[86][95][96]Thebarmaybesurroundedbya
ringcalledthe"5kpcring"thatcontainsalargefractionofthe
molecularhydrogenpresentintheMilkyWay,aswellasmostof
theMilkyWay'sstarformationactivity.Viewedfromthe
AndromedaGalaxy,itwouldbethebrightestfeatureoftheMilky
Way.[97]Xrayemissionfromthecoreisalignedwiththemassive
starssurroundingthecentralbar[90]andtheGalacticridge.[98]
Artist'sconceptionofthespiral
structureoftheMilkyWaywithtwo
majorstellararmsandabar[74]
Spitzerrevealswhatcannotbeseenin
visiblelight:coolerstars(blue),
heateddust(reddishhue),andSgrA*
asbrightwhitespotinthemiddle.
BrightXrayflaresfromSagittarius
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A*,locationofthesupermassive
In2010,twogigantic
blackholeatthecenteroftheMilky
sphericalbubblesofhigh
energyemissionwere
Way. [75]
detectedtothenorthandthe
southoftheMilkyWay
core,usingdataoftheFermiGammaraySpaceTelescope.The
diameterofeachofthebubblesisabout25,000lightyears
(7.7kpc)theystretchuptoGrusandtoVirgoonthenightskyof
IllustrationofthetwogiganticX
thesouthernhemisphere.[99][100]Subsequently,observationswith
ray/gammaraybubbles(blueviolet)
theParkesTelescopeatradiofrequenciesidentifiedpolarized
oftheMilkyWay(center)
emissionthatisassociatedwiththeFermibubbles.These
observationsarebestinterpretedasamagnetizedoutflowdrivenby
starformationinthecentral640ly(200pc)oftheMilkyWay.[101]
Later,onJanuary5,2015,NASAreportedobservinganXrayflare400timesbrighterthanusual,arecord
breaker,fromSagittariusA*,ablackholeinthecenteroftheMilkyWay.Theunusualeventmayhave
beencausedbythebreakingapartofanasteroidfallingintotheblackholeorbytheentanglementof
magneticfieldlineswithingasflowingintoSagittariusA*,accordingtoastronomers.[75]
Spiralarms
Formoredetailsonthistopic,seeSpiralgalaxy.
OutsidethegravitationalinfluenceoftheGalacticbars,astronomersgenerallyorganizethestructureofthe
interstellarmediumandstarsinthediskoftheMilkyWayintofourspiralarms.[102]Spiralarmstypically
containahigherdensityofinterstellargasanddustthantheGalacticaverageaswellasagreater
concentrationofstarformation,astracedbyHIIregions[103][104]andmolecularclouds.[105]
MapsoftheMilkyWay'sspiralstructurearenotoriouslyuncertainandexhibitstriking
differences.[74][102][104][106][107][108][109][110]Some150yearsafterAlexander(1852)[111]firstsuggestedthat
theMilkyWayisaspiral,thereiscurrentlynoconsensusonthenatureoftheMilkyWay'sspiralarms.
PerfectlogarithmicspiralpatternsonlycrudelydescribefeaturesneartheSun,[104][109]becausegalaxies
commonlyhavearmsthatbranch,merge,twistunexpectedly,andfeatureadegreeof
irregularity.[86][109][110]ThepossiblescenariooftheSunwithinaspur/Localarm[104]emphasizesthat
pointandindicatesthatsuchfeaturesareprobablynotunique,andexistelsewhereintheMilkyWay.[109]
Asinmostspiralgalaxies,eachspiralarmcanbedescribedasalogarithmicspiral.Estimatesofthepitch
angleofthearmsrangefromabout7to25.[112][113]Therearethoughttobefourspiralarmsthatallstart
neartheMilkyWay'scenter.Thesearenamedasfollows,withthepositionsofthearmsshownintheimage
atright:
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Color
cyan
Arm(s)
3kpcArm(Near3kpcArmandFar3kpcArm)andPerseusArm
purple NormaandOuterarm(Alongwithextensiondiscoveredin2004[114])
green ScutumCentaurusArm
pink
CarinaSagittariusArm
Thereareatleasttwosmallerarmsorspurs,including:
orange OrionCygnusArm(whichcontainstheSunandSolarSystem)
Twospiralarms,theScutumCentaurusarmandtheCarina
Sagittariusarm,havetangentpointsinsidetheSun'sorbitaboutthe
centeroftheMilkyWay.Ifthesearmscontainanoverdensityof
starscomparedtotheaveragedensityofstarsintheGalacticdisk,it
wouldbedetectablebycountingthestarsnearthetangentpoint.
Twosurveysofnearinfraredlight,whichissensitiveprimarilyto
redgiantsandnotaffectedbydustextinction,detectedthepredicted
overabundanceintheScutumCentaurusarmbutnotintheCarina
Observed(normallines)and
Sagittariusarm:theScutumCentaurusArmcontainsapproximately
extrapolated(dottedlines)structure
30%moreredgiantsthanwouldbeexpectedintheabsenceofa
ofthespiralarms.Thegraylines
radiatingfromtheSun'sposition
spiralarm.[112][115]In2008,RobertBenjaminoftheUniversityof
(uppercenter)listthethreeletter
WisconsinWhitewaterusedthisobservationtosuggestthatthe
abbreviationsofthecorresponding
MilkyWaypossessesonlytwomajorstellararms:thePerseusarm
constellations.
andtheScutumCentaurusarm.Therestofthearmscontainexcess
gasbutnotexcessoldstars.[74]InDecember2013,astronomers
foundthatthedistributionofyoungstarsandstarformingregionsmatchesthefourarmspiraldescription
oftheMilkyWay.[116][117][118]Thus,theMilkyWayappearstohavetwospiralarmsastracedbyoldstars
andfourspiralarmsastracedbygasandyoungstars.Theexplanationforthisapparentdiscrepancyis
unclear.[118]
TheNear3kpcArm(alsocalledExpanding3kpcArmorsimply3kpc
Arm)wasdiscoveredinthe1950sbyastronomervanWoerdenand
collaboratorsthrough21centimeterradiomeasurementsofHI(atomic
hydrogen).[119][120]Itwasfoundtobeexpandingawayfromthecentral
bulgeatmorethan50km/s.Itislocatedinthefourthgalacticquadrant
atadistanceofabout5.2kpcfromtheSunand3.3kpcfromthe
GalacticCenter.TheFar3kpcArmwasdiscoveredin2008by
astronomerTomDame(HarvardSmithsonianCfA).Itislocatedinthe
firstgalacticquadrantatadistanceof3kpc(about10,000ly)fromthe
GalacticCenter.[120][121]
MilkyWayGalaxySpiralArms
tracedbyWISEdata.
Asimulationpublishedin2011suggestedthattheMilkyWaymay
haveobtaineditsspiralarmstructureasaresultofrepeatedcollisions
withtheSagittariusDwarfEllipticalGalaxy.[122]
IthasbeensuggestedthattheMilkyWaycontainstwodifferentspiralpatterns:aninnerone,formedbythe
Sagittariusarm,thatrotatesfastandanouterone,formedbytheCarinaandPerseusarms,whoserotation
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velocityisslowerandwhosearmsaretightlywound.Inthisscenario,suggestedbynumericalsimulations
ofthedynamicsofthedifferentspiralarms,theouterpatternwouldformanouterpseudoring[123]andthe
twopatternswouldbeconnectedbytheCygnusarm.[124]
OutsideofthemajorspiralarmsistheMonocerosRing(orOuterRing),aringofgasandstarstornfrom
othergalaxiesbillionsofyearsago.However,severalmembersofthescientificcommunityrecently
restatedtheirpositionaffirmingtheMonocerosstructureisnothingmorethananoverdensityproducedby
theflaredandwarpedthickdiskoftheMilkyWay.[125]
Halo
TheGalacticdiskissurroundedbyaspheroidalhaloofoldstarsandglobularclusters,ofwhich90%lie
within100,000lightyears(30kpc)oftheGalacticCenter.[126]However,afewglobularclustershavebeen
foundfarther,suchasPAL4andAM1atmorethan200,000lightyearsfromtheGalacticCenter.About
40%oftheMilkyWay'sclustersareonretrogradeorbits,whichmeanstheymoveintheoppositedirection
fromtheMilkyWayrotation.[127]TheglobularclusterscanfollowrosetteorbitsabouttheMilkyWay,in
contrasttotheellipticalorbitofaplanetaroundastar.[128]
Althoughthediskcontainsdustthatobscurestheviewinsomewavelengths,thehalocomponentdoesnot.
Activestarformationtakesplaceinthedisk(especiallyinthespiralarms,whichrepresentareasofhigh
density),butdoesnottakeplaceinthehalo,asthereislittlegascoolenoughtocollapseintostars.[15]Open
clustersarealsolocatedprimarilyinthedisk.[129]
Discoveriesintheearly21stcenturyhaveaddeddimensiontotheknowledgeoftheMilkyWay'sstructure.
WiththediscoverythatthediskoftheAndromedaGalaxy(M31)extendsmuchfurtherthanpreviously
thought,[130]thepossibilityofthediskoftheMilkyWayextendingfurtherisapparent,andthisissupported
byevidencefromthediscoveryoftheOuterArmextensionoftheCygnusArm[114][131]andofasimilar
extensionoftheScutumCentaurusArm.[132]WiththediscoveryoftheSagittariusDwarfEllipticalGalaxy
camethediscoveryofaribbonofgalacticdebrisasthepolarorbitofthedwarfanditsinteractionwiththe
MilkyWaytearsitapart.Similarly,withthediscoveryoftheCanisMajorDwarfGalaxy,itwasfoundthat
aringofgalacticdebrisfromitsinteractionwiththeMilkyWayencirclestheGalacticdisk.
OnJanuary9,2006,MarioJuriandothersofPrincetonUniversityannouncedthattheSloanDigitalSky
Surveyofthenorthernskyfoundahugeanddiffusestructure(spreadoutacrossanareaaround5,000times
thesizeofafullmoon)withintheMilkyWaythatdoesnotseemtofitwithincurrentmodels.The
collectionofstarsrisesclosetoperpendiculartotheplaneofthespiralarmsoftheMilkyWay.The
proposedlikelyinterpretationisthatadwarfgalaxyismergingwiththeMilkyWay.Thisgalaxyis
tentativelynamedtheVirgoStellarStreamandisfoundinthedirectionofVirgoabout30,000lightyears
(9kpc)away.[133]
Gaseoushalo
Inadditiontothestellarhalo,theChandraXrayObservatory,XMMNewton,andSuzakuhaveprovided
evidencethatthereisagaseoushalowithalargeamountofhotgas.Thehaloextendsforhundredsof
thousandoflightyears,muchfurtherthanthestellarhaloandclosetothedistanceoftheLargeandSmall
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MagellanicClouds.ThemassofthishothaloisnearlyequivalenttothemassoftheMilkyWay
itself.[134][135][136]Thetemperatureofthishalogasisbetween1millionand2.5millionkelvin.[137]
ObservationsofdistantgalaxiesindicatethattheUniversehadaboutonesixthasmuchbaryonic(ordinary)
matterasdarkmatterwhenitwasjustafewbillionyearsold.However,onlyabouthalfofthosebaryons
areaccountedforinthemodernUniversebasedonobservationsofnearbygalaxiesliketheMilkyWay.[138]
IfthefindingthatthemassofthehaloiscomparabletothemassoftheMilkyWayisconfirmed,itcouldbe
theidentityofthemissingbaryonsaroundtheMilkyWay.[138]
Sunslocationandneighborhood
TheSunisneartheinnerrimoftheOrionArm,withintheLocal
FluffoftheLocalBubble,andintheGouldBelt,atadistanceof
8.330.35kiloparsecs(27,2001,100ly)fromtheGalactic
Center.[14][83][139]TheSuniscurrently530parsecs(1698ly)
fromthecentralplaneoftheGalacticdisk.[140]Thedistance
betweenthelocalarmandthenextarmout,thePerseusArm,is
about2,000parsecs(6,500ly).[141]TheSun,andthustheSolar
System,islocatedintheMilkyWay'sgalactichabitablezone.
Thereareabout208starsbrighterthanabsolutemagnitude8.5
withinaspherewitharadiusof15parsecs(49ly)fromtheSun,
givingadensityofonestarper69cubicparsec,oronestarper
2,360cubiclightyear(fromListofnearestbrightstars).Onthe
otherhand,thereare64knownstars(ofanymagnitude,not
counting4browndwarfs)within5parsecs(16ly)oftheSun,
givingadensityofaboutonestarper8.2cubicparsec,oroneper
284cubiclightyear(fromListofneareststars).Thisillustratesthe
factthattherearefarmorefaintstarsthanbrightstars:intheentire
sky,thereareabout500starsbrighterthanapparentmagnitude4
but15.5millionstarsbrighterthanapparentmagnitude14.[142]
DiagramoftheSunslocationinthe
MilkyWay.Theanglesrepresent
longitudesinthegalacticcoordinate
system.
TheapexoftheSun'sway,orthesolarapex,isthedirectionthatthe
SuntravelsthroughspaceintheMilkyWay.Thegeneraldirection
oftheSun'sGalacticmotionistowardsthestarVeganearthe
constellationofHercules,atanangleofroughly60skydegreesto
thedirectionoftheGalacticCenter.TheSun'sorbitabouttheMilky
Wayisexpectedtoberoughlyellipticalwiththeadditionof
perturbationsduetotheGalacticspiralarmsandnonuniformmass
DiagramofthestarsintheSolar
distributions.Inaddition,theSunoscillatesupanddownrelativeto
neighborhood
theGalacticplaneapproximately2.7timesperorbit.Thisisvery
similartohowasimpleharmonicoscillatorworkswithnodrag
force(damping)term.Theseoscillationswereuntilrecentlythoughttocoincidewithmasslifeform
extinctionperiodsonEarth.[143]However,areanalysisoftheeffectsoftheSun'stransitthroughthespiral
structurebasedonCOdatahasfailedtofindacorrelation.[144]
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IttakestheSolarSystemabout240millionyearstocompleteoneorbitoftheMilkyWay(agalactic
year),[15]sotheSunisthoughttohavecompleted1820orbitsduringitslifetimeand1/1250ofa
revolutionsincetheoriginofhumans.TheorbitalspeedoftheSolarSystemaboutthecenteroftheMilky
Wayisapproximately220km/sor0.073%ofthespeedoflight.TheSunmovesthroughtheheliosphereat
84,000km/h(52,000mph).Atthisspeed,ittakesaround1,400yearsfortheSolarSystemtotravela
distanceof1lightyear,or8daystotravel1AU(astronomicalunit).[145]TheSolarSystemisheadedinthe
directionofthezodiacalconstellationScorpius,whichfollowstheecliptic.[146]
Galacticrotation
ThestarsandgasintheMilkyWayrotateaboutitscenter
differentially,meaningthattherotationperiodvarieswithlocation.
Asistypicalforspiralgalaxies,theorbitalspeedofmoststarsinthe
MilkyWaydoesnotdependstronglyontheirdistancefromthe
center.Awayfromthecentralbulgeorouterrim,thetypicalstellar
orbitalspeedisbetween210and240km/s.[149]Hencetheorbital
periodofthetypicalstarisdirectlyproportionalonlytothelength
ofthepathtraveled.ThisisunlikethesituationwithintheSolar
System,wheretwobodygravitationaldynamicsdominateand
differentorbitshavesignificantlydifferentvelocitiesassociatedwith
them.Therotationcurve(showninthefigure)describesthis
rotation.TowardthecenteroftheMilkyWaytheorbitspeedsare
toolow,whereasbeyond7kpcsthespeedsaretoohightomatch
whatwouldbeexpectedfromtheuniversallawofgravitation.
GalaxyrotationcurvefortheMilky
Way.Verticalaxisisspeedof
rotationabouttheGalacticCenter.
Horizontalaxisisdistancefromthe
GalacticCenterinkpcs.TheSunis
markedwithayellowball.The
observedcurveofspeedofrotationis
blue.Thepredictedcurvebasedupon
stellarmassandgasintheMilkyWay
isred.Scatterinobservationsroughly
indicatedbygraybars.Thedifference
IftheMilkyWaycontainedonlythemassobservedinstars,gas,
andotherbaryonic(ordinary)matter,therotationspeedwould
decreasewithdistancefromthecenter.However,theobserved
isduetodarkmatter. [32][147][148]
curveisrelativelyflat,indicatingthatthereisadditionalmassthat
cannotbedetecteddirectlywithelectromagneticradiation.This
inconsistencyisattributedtodarkmatter.[32]TherotationcurveoftheMilkyWayagreeswiththeuniversal
rotationcurveofspiralgalaxies,thebestevidencefortheexistenceofdarkmatteringalaxies.
Alternatively,aminorityofastronomersproposethatamodificationofthelawofgravitymayexplainthe
observedrotationcurve.[150]
Formation
Mainarticle:Galaxyformationandevolution
TheMilkyWaybeganasoneorseveralsmalloverdensitiesinthemassdistributionintheUniverseshortly
aftertheBigBang.Someoftheseoverdensitiesweretheseedsofglobularclustersinwhichtheoldest
remainingstarsinwhatisnowtheMilkyWayformed.Thesestarsandclustersnowcomprisethestellar
halooftheMilkyWay.Withinafewbillionyearsofthebirthofthefirststars,themassoftheMilkyWay
waslargeenoughsothatitwasspinningrelativelyquickly.Duetoconservationofangularmomentum,this
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ledthegaseousinterstellarmediumtocollapsefromaroughlyspheroidalshapetoadisk.Therefore,later
generationsofstarsformedinthisspiraldisk.Mostyoungerstars,includingtheSun,areobservedtobein
thedisk.[151][152]
Sincethefirststarsbegantoform,theMilkyWayhasgrownthroughbothgalaxymergers(particularly
earlyintheMilkyWay'sgrowth)andaccretionofgasdirectlyfromtheGalactichalo.[152]TheMilkyWay
iscurrentlyaccretingmaterialfromtwoofitsnearestsatellitegalaxies,theLargeandSmallMagellanic
Clouds,throughtheMagellanicStream.Directaccretionofgasisobservedinhighvelocitycloudslikethe
SmithCloud.[153][154]However,propertiesoftheMilkyWaysuchasstellarmass,angularmomentum,and
metallicityinitsoutermostregionssuggestithasundergonenomergerswithlargegalaxiesinthelast10
billionyears.Thislackofrecentmajormergersisunusualamongsimilarspiralgalaxiesitsneighbourthe
AndromedaGalaxyappearstohaveamoretypicalhistoryshapedbymorerecentmergerswithrelatively
largegalaxies.[155][156]
Accordingtorecentstudies,theMilkyWayaswellasAndromedalieinwhatinthegalaxycolor
magnitudediagramisknownasthegreenvalley,aregionpopulatedbygalaxiesintransitionfromtheblue
cloud(galaxiesactivelyformingnewstars)totheredsequence(galaxiesthatlackstarformation).Star
formationactivityingreenvalleygalaxiesisslowingastheyrunoutofstarforminggasintheinterstellar
medium.Insimulatedgalaxieswithsimilarproperties,starformationwilltypicallyhavebeenextinguished
withinaboutfivebillionyearsfromnow,evenaccountingfortheexpected,shorttermincreaseintherate
ofstarformationduetothecollisionbetweenboththeMilkyWayandtheAndromedaGalaxy.[157]Infact,
measurementsofothergalaxiessimilartotheMilkyWaysuggestitisamongthereddestandbrightest
spiralgalaxiesthatarestillformingnewstarsanditisjustslightlybluerthanthebluestredsequence
galaxies.[158]
Age
GlobularclustersareamongtheoldestobjectsintheMilkyWay,
whichthussetalowerlimitontheageoftheMilkyWay.Theages
ofindividualstarsintheMilkyWaycanbeestimatedbymeasuring
theabundanceoflonglivedradioactiveelementssuchasthorium
232anduranium238,thencomparingtheresultstoestimatesof
theiroriginalabundance,atechniquecalled
nucleocosmochronology.Theseyieldvaluesofabout
12.53billionyearsforCS31082001[160]and
Illustrationofthenightskyfroma
[161]
hypotheticalplanetwithinthe
13.84billionyearsforBD+173248.
Onceawhitedwarfis
youthfulMilkyWay10billionyears
formed,itbeginstoundergoradiativecoolingandthesurface
temperaturesteadilydrops.Bymeasuringthetemperaturesofthe
ago. [159]
coolestofthesewhitedwarfsandcomparingthemtotheirexpected
initialtemperature,anageestimatecanbemade.Withthis
technique,theageoftheglobularclusterM4wasestimatedas12.70.7billionyears.Ageestimatesofthe
oldestoftheseclustersgivesabestfitestimateof12.6billionyears,anda95%confidenceupperlimitof
16billionyears.[162]
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SeveralindividualstarshavebeenfoundintheMilkyWay'shalowithmeasuredagesveryclosetothe
13.80billionyearageoftheUniverse.In2007,astarinthegalactichalo,HE15230901,wasestimatedto
beabout13.2billionyearsold.AstheoldestknownobjectintheMilkyWayatthattime,thismeasurement
placedalowerlimitontheageoftheMilkyWay.[163]ThisestimatewasmadeusingtheUVVisualEchelle
SpectrographoftheVeryLargeTelescopetomeasuretherelativestrengthsofspectrallinescausedbythe
presenceofthoriumandotherelementscreatedbytheRprocess.Thelinestrengthsyieldabundancesof
differentelementalisotopes,fromwhichanestimateoftheageofthestarcanbederivedusing
nucleocosmochronology.[163]Anotherstar,HD140283,is14.50.7billionyearsoldandthusformedat
least13.8billionyearsago.[9][164]
Theageofstarsinthegalacticthindiskhasalsobeenestimatedusingnucleocosmochronology.
Measurementsofthindiskstarsyieldanestimatethatthethindiskformed8.81.7billionyearsago.
Thesemeasurementssuggesttherewasahiatusofalmost5billionyearsbetweentheformationofthe
galactichaloandthethindisk.[165]
Environment
Mainarticle:LocalGroup
TheMilkyWayandtheAndromedaGalaxyareabinarysystemof
giantspiralgalaxiesbelongingtoagroupof50closelybound
galaxiesknownastheLocalGroup,itselfbeingpartoftheVirgo
Supercluster.TheVirgoSuperclusterformspartofagreater
structure,calledLaniakea.[166]
TwosmallergalaxiesandanumberofdwarfgalaxiesintheLocal
GrouporbittheMilkyWay.ThelargestoftheseistheLarge
MagellanicCloudwithadiameterof14,000lightyears.Ithasa
closecompanion,theSmallMagellanicCloud.TheMagellanic
Streamisastreamofneutralhydrogengasextendingfromthese
twosmallgalaxiesacross100ofthesky.Thestreamisthoughtto
havebeendraggedfromtheMagellanicCloudsintidalinteractions
withtheMilkyWay.[167]Someofthedwarfgalaxiesorbitingthe
MilkyWayareCanisMajorDwarf(theclosest),SagittariusDwarf
EllipticalGalaxy,UrsaMinorDwarf,SculptorDwarf,Sextans
Dwarf,FornaxDwarf,andLeoIDwarf.Thesmallestdwarf
galaxiesoftheMilkyWayareonly500lightyearsindiameter.
TheseincludeCarinaDwarf,DracoDwarf,andLeoIIDwarf.There
maystillbeundetecteddwarfgalaxiesthataredynamicallybound
totheMilkyWay,whichissupportedbythedetectionofninenew
satellitesoftheMilkyWayinarelativelysmallpatchofthenight
skyin2015.[168]Therearealsosomedwarfgalaxiesthathave
alreadybeenabsorbedbytheMilkyWay,suchasOmega
Centauri.[169]
DiagramofthegalaxiesintheLocal
GrouprelativetotheMilkyWay
ThepositionoftheLocalGroup
withintheVirgoSupercluster
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In2014researchersreportedthatmostsatellitegalaxiesoftheMilkyWayactuallylieinahugedisk,with
almostallsatellitegalaxiesmovinginthesamedirectionwithinthisdisk.[170]Thiscameasasurprise:
accordingtostandardcosmology,thegalaxiesshouldforminhalosofdarkmatter,bewidelydistributed
andshouldmoveinrandomdirections.Thisdiscrepancyisstillnotfullyexplained.[171]
InJanuary2006,researchersreportedthattheheretoforeunexplainedwarpinthediskoftheMilkyWay
hasnowbeenmappedandfoundtobearippleorvibrationsetupbytheLargeandSmallMagellanic
CloudsastheyorbittheMilkyWay,causingvibrationswhentheypassthroughitsedges.Previously,these
twogalaxies,ataround2%ofthemassoftheMilkyWay,wereconsideredtoosmalltoinfluencetheMilky
Way.However,inacomputermodel,themovementofthesetwogalaxiescreatesadarkmatterwakethat
amplifiestheirinfluenceonthelargerMilkyWay.[172]
CurrentmeasurementssuggesttheAndromedaGalaxyisapproachingusat100to140kilometersper
second.In3to4billionyears,theremaybeanAndromedaMilkyWaycollision,dependingonthe
importanceofunknownlateralcomponentstothegalaxies'relativemotion.Iftheycollide,thechanceof
individualstarscollidingwitheachotherisextremelylow,butinsteadthetwogalaxieswillmergetoform
asingleellipticalgalaxyorperhapsalargediskgalaxy[173]overthecourseofaboutabillionyears.[174]
Velocity
Althoughspecialrelativitystatesthatthereisno"preferred"inertialframeofreferenceinspacewithwhich
tocomparetheMilkyWay,theMilkyWaydoeshaveavelocitywithrespecttocosmologicalframesof
reference.
OnesuchframeofreferenceistheHubbleflow,theapparentmotionsofgalaxyclustersduetothe
expansionofspace.Individualgalaxies,includingtheMilkyWay,havepeculiarvelocitiesrelativetothe
averageflow.Thus,tocomparetheMilkyWaytotheHubbleflow,onemustconsideravolumelarge
enoughsothattheexpansionoftheUniversedominatesoverlocal,randommotions.Alargeenough
volumemeansthatthemeanmotionofgalaxieswithinthisvolumeisequaltotheHubbleflow.
AstronomersbelievetheMilkyWayismovingatapproximately630kmpersecondwithrespecttothis
localcomovingframeofreference.[175]TheMilkyWayismovinginthegeneraldirectionoftheGreat
Attractorandothergalaxyclusters,includingtheShapleysupercluster,behindit.[176]TheLocalGroup(a
clusterofgravitationallyboundgalaxiescontaining,amongothers,theMilkyWayandtheAndromeda
Galaxy)ispartofasuperclustercalledtheLocalSupercluster,centeredneartheVirgoCluster:although
theyaremovingawayfromeachotherat967km/saspartoftheHubbleflow,thisvelocityislessthan
wouldbeexpectedgiventhe16.8millionpcdistanceduetothegravitationalattractionbetweentheLocal
GroupandtheVirgoCluster.[177]
Anotherreferenceframeisprovidedbythecosmicmicrowavebackground(CMB).TheMilkyWayis
movingat5526km/s[17]withrespecttothephotonsoftheCMB,toward10.5rightascension,24
declination(J2000epoch,nearthecenterofHydra).Thismotionisobservedbysatellitessuchasthe
CosmicBackgroundExplorer(COBE)andtheWilkinsonMicrowaveAnisotropyProbe(WMAP)asa
dipolecontributiontotheCMB,asphotonsinequilibriumintheCMBframegetblueshiftedinthe
directionofthemotionandredshiftedintheoppositedirection.[17]
Etymologyandmythology
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Mainarticles:ListofnamesfortheMilkyWayandMilkyWay(mythology)
Inwesternculturethename"MilkyWay"isderivedfromitsappearanceasadimunresolved"milky"
glowingbandarchingacrossthenightsky.ThetermisatranslationoftheClassicalLatinvialactea,inturn
derivedfromtheHellenisticGreek,shortfor(galaxaskklos,"milkycircle").
TheAncientGreek(galaxias)fromroot,("milk")+(formingadjectives)is
alsotherootof"galaxy",thenameforour,andlaterallsuch,collectionsofstars.[21][178][179][180]
TheMilkyWay,or"milkcircle",wasjustoneof11"circles"theGreeksidentifiedinthesky,othersbeing
thezodiac,themeridian,thehorizon,theequator,thetropicsofCancerandCapricorn,ArcticandAntarctic
circles,andtwocolurecirclespassingthroughbothpoles.[181]
Astronomicalhistory
Seealso:GalaxyObservationhistory
InMeteorologica(DK59A80),Aristotle(384322BC)wrotethat
theGreekphilosophersAnaxagoras(c.500428BC)and
Democritus(460370BC)proposedthattheMilkyWaymight
consistofdistantstars.However,Aristotlehimselfbelievedthe
TheshapeoftheMilkyWayas
MilkyWaytobecausedby"theignitionofthefieryexhalationof
deducedfromstarcountsbyWilliam
somestarswhichwerelarge,numerousandclosetogether"andthat
Herschelin1785theSolarSystem
the"ignitiontakesplaceintheupperpartoftheatmosphere,inthe
wasassumednearcenter
regionoftheworldwhichiscontinuouswiththeheavenly
motions."[182]TheNeoplatonistphilosopherOlympiodorusthe
Younger(c.495570A.D.)criticizedthisview,arguingthatiftheMilkyWayweresublunary,itshould
appeardifferentatdifferenttimesandplacesonEarth,andthatitshouldhaveparallax,whichitdoesnot.In
hisview,theMilkyWayiscelestial.ThisideawouldbeinfluentiallaterintheIslamicworld.[183]
ThePersianastronomerAbRayhnalBrn(9731048)proposedthattheMilkyWayis"acollectionof
countlessfragmentsofthenatureofnebulousstars".[184]TheAndalusianastronomerAvempace(d1138)
proposedtheMilkyWaytobemadeupofmanystarsbutappearstobeacontinuousimageduetotheeffect
ofrefractioninEarth'satmosphere,citinghisobservationofaconjunctionofJupiterandMarsin1106or
1107asevidence.[182]IbnQayyimAlJawziyya(12921350)proposedthattheMilkyWayis"amyriadof
tinystarspackedtogetherinthesphereofthefixedstars"andthatthesestarsarelargerthanplanets.[185]
AccordingtoJamilRagep,thePersianastronomerNaralDnals(12011274)inhisTadhkirawrites:
"TheMilkyWay,i.e.theGalaxy,ismadeupofaverylargenumberofsmall,tightlyclusteredstars,which,
onaccountoftheirconcentrationandsmallness,seemtobecloudypatches.Becauseofthis,itwaslikened
tomilkincolor."[186]
ActualproofoftheMilkyWayconsistingofmanystarscamein1610whenGalileoGalileiuseda
telescopetostudytheMilkyWayanddiscoveredthatitiscomposedofahugenumberoffaint
stars.[187][188]Inatreatisein1755,ImmanuelKant,drawingonearlierworkbyThomasWright,[189]
speculated(correctly)thattheMilkyWaymightbearotatingbodyofahugenumberofstars,heldtogether
bygravitationalforcesakintotheSolarSystembutonmuchlargerscales.[190]Theresultingdiskofstars
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wouldbeseenasabandontheskyfromourperspectiveinsidethedisk.Kantalsoconjecturedthatsomeof
thenebulaevisibleinthenightskymightbeseparate"galaxies"themselves,similartoourown.Kant
referredtoboththeMilkyWayandthe"extragalacticnebulae"as"islanduniverses",atermstillcurrentup
tothe1930s.[191][192][193]
ThefirstattempttodescribetheshapeoftheMilkyWayandthepositionoftheSunwithinitwascarried
outbyWilliamHerschelin1785bycarefullycountingthenumberofstarsindifferentregionsofthevisible
sky.HeproducedadiagramoftheshapeoftheMilkyWaywiththeSolarSystemclosetothecenter.[194]
In1845,LordRosseconstructedanewtelescopeandwasabletodistinguishbetweenellipticalandspiral
shapednebulae.Healsomanagedtomakeoutindividualpointsourcesinsomeofthesenebulae,lending
credencetoKant'searlierconjecture.[195]
In1917,HeberCurtishadobservedthenovaSAndromedaewithin
theGreatAndromedaNebula(Messierobject31).Searchingthe
photographicrecord,hefound11morenovae.Curtisnoticedthat
thesenovaewere,onaverage,10magnitudesfainterthanthosethat
occurredwithintheMilkyWay.Asaresult,hewasabletocomeup
withadistanceestimateof150,000parsecs.Hebecameaproponent
ofthe"islanduniverses"hypothesis,whichheldthatthespiral
nebulaewereactuallyindependentgalaxies.[196]In1920theGreat
DebatetookplacebetweenHarlowShapleyandHeberCurtis,
concerningthenatureoftheMilkyWay,spiralnebulae,andthe
dimensionsoftheuniverse.TosupporthisclaimthattheGreat
AndromedaNebulaisanexternalgalaxy,Curtisnotedthe
appearanceofdarklanesresemblingthedustcloudsintheMilky
Way,aswellasthesignificantDopplershift.[197]
Photographofthe"GreatAndromeda
Nebula"from1899,lateridentifiedas
theAndromedaGalaxy
ThecontroversywasconclusivelysettledbyEdwinHubbleintheearly1920susingtheMountWilson
observatory2.5mHookertelescope.Withthelightgatheringpowerofthisnewtelescopehewasableto
produceastronomicalphotographsthatresolvedtheouterpartsofsomespiralnebulaeascollectionsof
individualstars.HewasalsoabletoidentifysomeCepheidvariablesthathecoulduseasabenchmarkto
estimatethedistancetothenebulae.HefoundthattheAndromedaNebulais275,000parsecsfromtheSun,
fartoodistanttobepartoftheMilkyWay.[25][198]
Seealso
Baade'sWindow
Oortconstants
Listofgalaxies
Notes
1. JayM.PasachoffinhistextbookAstronomy:FromtheEarthtotheUniversestatesthetermMilkyWayshould
referexclusivelytothebandoflightthatthegalaxyformsinthenightsky,whilethegalaxyshouldreceivethe
fullnameMilkyWayGalaxy.See:
Pasachoff,JayM.(1994).Astronomy:FromtheEarthtotheUniverse.HarcourtSchool.p.500.ISBN0
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10/29/2015
030016673.
2. SeealsoBortleDarkSkyScale.
3. Foraphotosee:"SagittariusA*:MilkyWaymonsterstarsincosmicrealityshow".ChandraXrayObservatory.
HarvardSmithsonianCenterforAstrophysics.January6,2003.RetrievedMay20,2012.
a. Karachentsevetalgiveablueabsolutemagnitudeof20.8.CombinedwithaColorindexof0.55estimatedhere
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.440..405M),weobtainanabsolutevisualmagnitudeof21.35
(20.80.55=21.35).Notethatdeterminingtheabsolutemagnitudeofourgalaxyisverydifficult,aswe're
inmersedonit.
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155. Yin,J.Hou,J.LPrantzos,N.Boissier,S.etal.(2009)."MilkyWayversusAndromeda:ataleoftwodisks".
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157. Mutch,S.J.Croton,D.J.Poole,G.B.(2011)."TheMidlifeCrisisoftheMilkyWayandM31".The
AstrophysicalJournal736(2):84.arXiv:1105.2564.Bibcode:2011ApJ...736...84M.doi:10.1088/0004
637X/736/2/84.
158. Licquia,T.Newman,J.A.Poole,G.B.(2012)."WhatIsTheColorOfTheMilkyWay?".American
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159. "Afirestormofstarbirth(artistsillustration)".www.spacetelescope.org.ESA/Hubble.Retrieved14April2015.
160. Cayreletal.(2001)."Measurementofstellaragefromuraniumdecay".Nature409:691692.arXiv:astro
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161. Cowan,J.J.Sneden,C.Burles,S.Ivans,I.I.Beers,T.C.Truran,J.W.Lawler,J.E.Primas,F.Fuller,
G.M.etal.(2002)."TheChemicalCompositionandAgeoftheMetalpoorHaloStarBD+17o3248".The
AstrophysicalJournal572(2):861.doi:10.1086/340347.
162. Krauss,L.M.Chaboyer,B.(2003)."AgeEstimatesofGlobularClustersintheMilkyWay:Constraintson
Cosmology".Science299(5603):6569.Bibcode:2003Sci...299...65K.doi:10.1126/science.1075631.
PMID12511641.
163. Frebel,A.etal.(2007)."DiscoveryofHE15230901,astronglyrprocessenhancedmetalpoorstarwith
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Bibcode:2007ApJ...660L.117F.doi:10.1086/518122.
164. "HubbleFindsBirthCertificateofOldestKnownStarintheMilkyWay".NASA.March7,2013.Archivedfrom
theoriginalonAugust11,2014.
165. delPeloso,E.F.(2005)."TheageoftheGalacticthindiskfromTh/Eunucleocosmochronology.III.Extended
sample".AstronomyandAstrophysics440(3):11531159.arXiv:astroph/0506458.
Bibcode:2005A&A...440.1153D.doi:10.1051/00046361:20053307.
166. R.BrentTullyHeleneCourtoisYehudaHoffmanDanielPomarde(September2,2014)."TheLaniakea
superclusterofgalaxies".Nature(September4,2014)513(7516):7173.arXiv:1409.0880.
Bibcode:2014Natur.513...71T.doi:10.1038/nature13674.
167. Putman,M.E.StaveleySmith,L.Freeman,K.C.Gibson,B.K.Barnes,D.G.(2003)."TheMagellanic
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SergeyE.Koposov,VasilyBelokurov,GabrielTorrealba,N.WynEvans(10March2015)."Beastsofthe
SouthernWild.DiscoveryofalargenumberofUltraFaintsatellitesinthevicinityoftheMagellanicClouds".
TheAstrophysicalJournal805:130.arXiv:1503.02079.Bibcode:2015ApJ...805..130K.doi:10.1088/0004
637X/805/2/130.
Noyola,E.Gebhardt,K.Bergmann,M.(April2008)."GeminiandHubbleSpaceTelescopeEvidenceforan
IntermediateMassBlackHoleinCentauri".TheAstrophysicalJournal676(2):10081015.arXiv:0801.2782.
Bibcode:2008ApJ...676.1008N.doi:10.1086/529002.
LeaKivivali(11June2014)."Nearbysatellitegalaxieschallengestandardmodelofgalaxyformation".
SwinburneUniversityofTechnology.Archivedfromtheoriginalon16March2015.
Pawlowskietal.(10June2014)."Coorbitingsatellitegalaxystructuresarestillinconflictwiththedistribution
ofprimordialdwarfgalaxies".MonthlyNoticesoftheRoyalAstronomicalSociety442:23622380.
arXiv:1406.1799.Bibcode:2014MNRAS.442.2362P.doi:10.1093/mnras/stu1005.
"MilkyWayGalaxyiswarpedandvibratinglikeadrum"(Pressrelease).UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.
January9,2006.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJuly16,2014.RetrievedOctober18,2007.
JunkoUedaetal."Coldmoleculargasinmergerremnants.I.Formationofmoleculargasdisks".The
AstrophysicalJournalSupplementSeries214(1).arXiv:1407.6873.Bibcode:2014ApJS..214....1U.
doi:10.1088/00670049/214/1/1.
Wong,Janet(April14,2000)."Astrophysicistmapsoutourowngalaxy'send".UniversityofToronto.Archived
fromtheoriginalonJanuary8,2007.RetrievedJanuary11,2007.
MarkH.JonesRobertJ.LambourneDavidJohnAdams(2004).AnIntroductiontoGalaxiesandCosmology.
CambridgeUniversityPress.p.298.ISBN0521546230.
Kocevski,D.D.Ebeling,H.(2006)."OntheoriginoftheLocalGroup'speculiarvelocity".TheAstrophysical
Journal645(2):10431053.arXiv:astroph/0510106.Bibcode:2006ApJ...645.1043K.doi:10.1086/503666.
Peirani,SDefreitaspacheco,J(2006)."Massdeterminationofgroupsofgalaxies:Effectsofthecosmological
constant".NewAstronomy11(4):325330.arXiv:astroph/0508614.Bibcode:2006NewA...11..325P.
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doi:10.1016/j.newast.2005.08.008.
178. Jankowski,Connie(2010).PioneersofLightandSound.CompassPointBooks.p.6.ISBN0756543061.
179. Schiller,Jon(2010).BigBang&BlackHoles.CreateSpace.p.163.ISBN1452865523.
180. Simpson,JohnWeiner,Edmund,eds.(March30,1989).TheOxfordEnglishDictionary(2nded.).Oxford
UniversityPress.ISBN0198611862.Seetheentriesfor"MilkyWay"and"galaxy".
181. Eratosthenes(1997).Condos,Theony,ed.StarMythsoftheGreeksandRomans:ASourcebookContainingthe
ConstellationsofPseudoEratosthenesandthePoeticAstronomyofHyginus.RedWheel/Weiser.
ISBN1890482935.
182. Montada,JosepPuig(September28,2007)."IbnBajja".StanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy.Retrieved
July11,2008.
183. Heidarzadeh,Tofigh(2008).Ahistoryofphysicaltheoriesofcomets,fromAristotletoWhipple.Springer.
pp.2325.ISBN140208322X.
184. O'Connor,JohnJ.Robertson,EdmundF.,"AbuRayhanMuhammadibnAhmadalBiruni",MacTutorHistory
ofMathematicsarchive,UniversityofStAndrews.
185. Livingston,JohnW.(1971)."IbnQayyimalJawziyyah:AFourteenthCenturyDefenseagainstAstrological
DivinationandAlchemicalTransmutation".JournaloftheAmericanOrientalSociety(AmericanOrientalSociety)
91(1):96103[99].doi:10.2307/600445.JSTOR600445.
186. Ragep,Jamil(1993).NasiralDinalTusisMemoironAstronomy(alTadhkirafi`ilmalhaya).NewYork:
SpringerVerlag.p.129.
187. GalileoGalilei,SidereusNuncius(Venice,(Italy):ThomasBaglioni,1610),pages15and16.
(https://archive.org/stream/Sidereusnuncius00Gali#page/n37/mode/2up)
Englishtranslation:GalileoGalileiwithEdwardStaffordCarlos,trans.,TheSiderealMessenger(London,
England:Rivingtons,1880),pages42and43.
(https://archive.org/stream/siderealmessenge80gali#page/42/mode/2up/)
188. O'Connor,J.J.Robertson,E.F.(November2002)."GalileoGalilei".UniversityofSt.Andrews.Retrieved
January8,2007.
189. ThomasWright,AnOriginalTheoryorNewHypothesisoftheUniverse(London,England:H.Chapelle,
1750).
Onpage57(http://books.google.com/books?id=80VZAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA57#v=onepage&q&f=false),
Wrightstatedthatdespitetheirmutualgravitationalattraction,thestarsintheconstellationsdon'tcollide
becausetheyareinorbit,socentrifugalforcekeepsthemseparated:"centrifugalforce,whichnotonly
preservesthemintheirorbits,butpreventsthemfromrushingalltogether,bythecommonuniversallaw
ofgravity,"
WrightstatedthattheformoftheMilkyWayisaring:"thestarsarenotinfinitelydispersedand
distributedinapromiscuousmannerthroughoutallthemundanespace,withoutorderordesign,this
phnomenon[is]nootherthanacertaineffectarisingfromtheobserver'ssituation,Toaspectator
placedinanindefinitespace,it[i.e.theMilkyWay(ViaLactea)][is]avastringofstars"
WrightspeculatedthatthecentralbodyoftheMilkyWay,aroundwhichtherestofthegalaxyrevolves,
mightnotbevisibletous:"...thecentralbodyA,beingsupposedasincognitum[i.e.anunknown],
without[i.e.outsideof]thefiniteview..."
WrightcalledtheMilkyWaytheVortexMagnus(thegreatwhirlpool)andestimateditsdiametertobe
8.641012miles(13.91012km).
Wrightspeculatedthatthereareavastnumberofinhabitedplanetsinthegalaxy:"thereforewemay
justlysuppose,thatsomanyradiantbodies[i.e.stars]werenotcreatedbarelytoenlightenaninfinitevoid,
buttodisplayaninfiniteshapelessuniverse,crowdedwithmyriadsofgloriousworlds,allvariously
revolvingroundthemandwithaninconceivablevarietyofbeingsandstates,animate"
190. ImmanuelKant,AllgemeineNaturgeschichteundTheoriedesHimmels(http://books.google.com/books?
id=nCcaAQAAMAAJ&pg=PP9#v=onepage&q&f=false)[UniversalNaturalHistoryandTheoryofHeaven],
(KoenigsbergandLeipzig,(Germany):JohannFriederichPetersen,1755).Onpages23,Kantacknowledgedhis
26/28
10/29/2015
191.
192.
193.
194.
195.
196.
197.
198.
debttoThomasWright:"DemHerrnWrightvonDurham,einenEngelnder,waresvorbehalten,einen
glcklichenSchrittzueinerBemerkungzuthun,welchevonihmselberzukeinergarzutchtigenAbsicht
gebrauchtzuseynscheinet,undderenntzlicheAnwendungernichtgenugsambeobachtethat.Erbetrachtetedie
FixsternenichtalseinungeordnetesundohneAbsichtzerstreutesGewimmel,sondernerfandeinesystematische
VerfassungimGanzen,undeineallgemeineBeziehungdieserGestirnegegeneinenHauptplanderRaume,diesie
einnehmen."(ToMr.WrightofDurham,anEnglishman,itwasreservedtotakeahappysteptowardsan
observation,whichseemed,tohimandtonooneelse,tobeneededforacleveridea,theexploitationofwhichhe
hasn'tstudiedsufficiently.Heregardedthefixedstarsnotasadisorganizedswarmthatwasscatteredwithouta
designrather,hefoundasystematicshapeinthewhole,andageneralrelationbetweenthesestarsandthe
principalplaneofthespacethattheyoccupy.)
Kant(1755),pagesxxxiiixxxviofthePreface(Vorrede):(http://books.google.com/books?
id=nCcaAQAAMAAJ&pg=PP49#v=onepage&q&f=false)"IchbetrachtetedieArtneblichterSterne,derenHerr
vonMaupertuisinderAbhandlungvonderFigurderGestirnegedenket,unddiedieFigurvonmehroder
wenigeroffenenEllipsenvorstellen,undversichertemichleicht,dasienichtsandersalseineHufungvieler
Fixsterneseynknnen.DiejederzeitabgemesseneRundungdieserFigurenbelehrtemich,dahierein
unbegreiflichzahlreichesSternenheer,undzwarumeinengemeinschaftlichenMittelpunkt,mstegeordnetseyn,
weilsonstihrefreyeStellungengegeneinander,wohlirregulreGestalten,abernichtabgemesseneFiguren
vorstellenwrden.Ichsaheauchein:dasieindemSystem,darinnsiesichvereinigtbefinden,vornemlichauf
eineFlchebeschrnktseynmten,weilsienichtzirkelrunde,sondernelliptischeFigurenabbilden,unddasie
wegenihresblassenLichtsunbegreiflichweitvonunsabstehen."(Iconsideredthetypeofnebulousstars,which
Mr.deMaupertuisconsideredinhistreatiseontheshapeofstars,andwhichpresentthefiguresofmoreorless
openellipses,andIreadilyassuredmyself,thattheycouldbenothingelsethanaclusteroffixedstars.Thatthese
figuresalwaysmeasuredroundinformedmethathereaninconceivablynumeroushostofstars,[whichwere
clustered]aroundacommoncenter,mustbeorderly,becauseotherwisetheirfreepositionsamongeachother
wouldlikelypresentirregularforms,notmeasurablefigures.Ialsorealized:thatinthesysteminwhichtheyfind
themselvesbound,theymustberestrictedprimarilytoaplane,becausetheydisplaynotcircular,butelliptical
figures,andthatonaccountoftheirfaintlight,theyarelocatedinconceivablyfarfromus.)
Evans,J.C.(November24,1998)."OurGalaxy".GeorgeMasonUniversity.RetrievedJanuary4,2007.
ThetermWeltinsel(islanduniverse)appearsnowhereinKant'sbookof1755.Thetermfirstappearedin1850,in
thethirdvolumeofvonHumboldt'sKosmos:AlexandervonHumboldt,Kosmos,vol.3(Stuttgart&
Tbingen,(Germany):J.G.Cotta,1850),pages187,189.Frompage187:(http://books.google.com/books?
id=Su0iAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA187#v=onepage&q&f=false)"ThomasWrightvonDurham,Kant,Lambertund
zuerstauchWilliamHerschelwarengeneigtdieGestaltderMilchstraeunddiescheinbareAnhufungder
SterneinderselbenalseineFolgederabgeplattetenGestaltundungleichenDimensionenderWeltinsel
(Sternschict)zubetrachten,inwelcheunserSonnensystemeingeschlossenist."(ThomasWrightofDurham,
Kant,LambertandfirstofallalsoWilliamHerschelwereinclinedtoregardtheshapeoftheMilkyWayandthe
apparentclusteringofstarsinitasaconsequenceoftheoblateshapeandunequaldimensionsoftheworldisland
(starstratum),inwhichoursolarsystemisincluded.)
IntheEnglishtranslationAlexandervonHumboldtwithE.C.Ott,trans.,Cosmos(NewYorkCity:Harper
&Brothers,1897),vols.35seepage147(http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?
id=njp.32101057350447view=1upseq=157).
WilliamHerschel(1785)"OntheConstructionoftheHeavens,"PhilosophicalTransactionsoftheRoyalSociety
ofLondon,75:213266.Herschel'sdiagramoftheMilkyWayappearsimmediatelyafterthearticle'slastpage.
See:
GoogleBooks(http://books.google.com/books?id=IU9FAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA213#v=onepage&q&f=false)
TheRoyalSocietyofLondon(http://rstl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/75/213.full.pdf+html)
Abbey,Lenny."TheEarlofRosseandtheLeviathanofParsontown".TheCompleatAmateurAstronomer.
ArchivedfromtheoriginalonMay13,2013.RetrievedJanuary4,2007.
Curtis,H.D.(1988)."NovaeinspiralnebulaeandtheIslandUniverseTheory".PublicationsoftheAstronomical
SocietyofthePacific100:62.Bibcode:1988PASP..100....6C.doi:10.1086/132128.
Weaver,HaroldF."RobertJuliusTrumpler".NationalAcademyofSciences.RetrievedJanuary5,2007.
Hubble,E.P.(1929)."Aspiralnebulaasastellarsystem,Messier31".TheAstrophysicalJournal69:103158.
Bibcode:1929ApJ....69..103H.doi:10.1086/143167.
27/28
10/29/2015
Furtherreading
ThorstenDambeckinSkyandTelescope,"Gaia'sMissiontotheMilkyWay",March2008,p.3639.
CristinaChiappini,TheFormationandEvolutionoftheMilkyWay,AmericanScientist,
November/December2001,pp.506515(http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~george/ay20/Chiappini
MilkyWay.pdf)
Externallinks
3DGalaxyMap(http://www.3dgalaxymap.com/Galaxy/)A
WikimediaCommonshas
3DrepresentationoftheMilkyWay
mediarelatedtoMilkyWay
BasicMilkyWayplanmap
Galaxy.
(http://galaxymap.org/drupal/node/171)Includesspiralarms
andOrionspur
Wikiquotehasquotations
MilkyWayIRAS(infrared)survey(http://www.sky
relatedto:MilkyWay
map.org/?
ra=12.0593794293245&de=20.27239516216098&zoom=0&show_grid=1&show_constellation_line
s=1&show_constellation_boundaries=1&show_const_names=0&show_galaxies=1&img_source=IR
AS)wikisky.org
MilkyWayHAlphasurvey(http://www.skymap.org/?
ra=12.0593794293245&de=20.27239516216098&zoom=0&show_grid=1&show_constellation_line
s=1&show_constellation_boundaries=1&show_const_names=0&show_galaxies=1&img_source=HA
LPHA)wikisky.org
TheMilkyWayGalaxy(http://messier.seds.org/more/mw.html)SEDSMessierwebsite
MultiWavelengthMilkyWay(http://mwmw.gsfc.nasa.gov/)NASAsitewithimagesandVRML
models
MilkyWayExplorer(http://galaxymap.org/drupal/node/127)Imagesininfraredwithradio,
microwaveandhydrogenalpha
MilkyWayPanorama(9billionpixels)(http://www.360pano.eu/show/?id=736).
MilkyWayVideo(02:37)VISTAIRTelescopeImage(October24,2012)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o8rNBtaI_4)
AnimatedtouroftheMilkyWay(http://alienworlds.southwales.ac.uk/milkyWay.html),Universityof
SouthWales
allskymap(http://sci.esa.int/sciencee
media/img/ec/PLANCK_FSM_03_Black_Regions_v02_extragalactic_frame_orig.jpg)ofmicrowave
radiation(Planck(spacecraft)oneyearallskysurvey)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Milky_Way&oldid=687916759"
Categories: MilkyWay Barredspiralgalaxies Astronomicalobjectsknownsinceantiquity
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon28October2015,at13:14.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmay
apply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisa
registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.
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