Milky Way Galaxy

Written by: Paul W. Hodge
Alternate title: The Galaxy

The disk

From a distance the most conspicuous part of the Galaxy would be the disk, which extends from the nucleus out to approximately 75,000 light-years. The Galaxy resembles other spiral systems, featuring as it does a bright, flat arrangement of stars and gas clouds that is spread out over its entirety and marked by a spiral structure. The disk can be thought of as being the underlying body of stars upon which the arms are superimposed. This body has a thickness that is roughly one-fifth its diameter, but different components have different characteristic thicknesses. The thinnest component, often called ... (100 of 15,726 words)

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