Astronomy Stack Exchange
Astronomy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [milky-way]

Questions regarding the Milky Way Galaxy, the galaxy that Earth's solar system is in.

Questions regarding the Milky Way Galaxy, the galaxy that Earth's solar system is in. The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy that stretches across half of the night sky. The Sun's nearest stars and the brightest stars in our night sky are all in this galaxy.

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How can we tell that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy?

From Earth, we can distinguish the type of another galaxy very easily simply by observing the shape, colour, and structure of the galaxy when we image it. But since we are located inside the Milky Way, we cannot get an "outside view". Thus, how can…
Devgeet Patel
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How many arms does the Milky Way galaxy have?

How many arms does the Milky Way galaxy have and how is it determined?
Vincent Ashley
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How does the Milky Way look like above 66° North and below 66° South?

I read on Wikipedia: depending on the time of night and the year, the arc of Milky Way can appear relatively low or relatively high in the sky. For observers from about 65 degrees north to 65 degrees south on the Earth's surface the Milky Way…
Niccolò
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In which direction does the ecliptic plane make an angle of 60 degrees with galactic plane?

In which direction does the ecliptic plane make an angle of 60 degrees with galactic plane? Is it toward the galactic center? (It can have any 360 degree orientation.)
P.sebastian Aby
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Why does the Milky Way look as though it's lit from one side?

I was reading a good explanation of why we don't see the colors in the Milky Way with the naked eye, while even undoctored photos show some color. (It has to do with our colorblind rods.) But it got me to wondering: Why, in even black-and-white…
Launce
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Why do pictures of the Milky Way look like a spiral?

When I see pictures of the Milky Way they show a spiral shape. Why is this?
esé
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What specific parts of the Milky Way do we see when we look up?

I know we can't see the center. But do we see any of the central bulge? Are we just seeing nearby stars in the Orion Spur where we are? In the Sagittarius Arm? In the other direction, are we seeing any of the arms further out from ours? Where…
Launce
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What are Flamsteed numbers?

Can you tell me about Flamsteed numbers? I just know that it is a specific number used for identification of stars. But what is the theory behind it? In what way is the number given to stars?
user52076
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Milky Way, view outward or inward?

I have a question about the view of the Milky Way that we can see from earth with the naked eye. I believe this to be light from the stars contained in one of the "arms" of the galaxy. I had always assumed that, from our vantage point, I was…
Madeleine P. Vincent
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Why is the Solar Helical (Vortex) model wrong?

Could someone give a lay description of why the Solar System's depiction of motion as a vortex is wrong? ref: Youtube video The helical model - our solar system is a vortex Please don't take for granted that because of my previous question about why…
CGCampbell
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Black hole at Galactic Center of the Milky way and Bar of stars?

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, with a supermassive black hole at its center. Here As it is a barred spiral galaxy, it has a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars.Here So my questions are -: Do the bar and supermassive black hole…
SwiftPushkar
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Are there any colored RAW photos of the Milky Way taken from space?

We can get RAW versions for many ISS images, like those of airglow, e.g. ISS043-E-143486. But all the photos of the Milky Way taken from ISS that I found were posted on Twitter (e.g. this, Flickr or other social networks heavily tone-mapped, it's…
Ruslan
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Movement of the stars relative to my position

I live in the Pacific North West (Washington State, US). I have watched the skies for years, looking for constellations that I recognize and keeping track of them. One of them is Orion. As I have watched Orion I noticed that it travels East to West…
Makoa
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If someone was above the galaxy, how much of it can he see?

If someone was far enough above the milky way to see the entire diameter, how much can he actually see with naked eye? I'm aware that on Earth, we only see stars within 1,000 light-years (roughly) by naked eyes. I found myself wondering if someone…
Eric Palmer-Smith
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Why do we define the Milky Way's rotation in a left-hand coordinate system?

When we talk about Milky Way kinematics, we define it as rotating clockwise from top. In the rest of physics, rotating objects are defined as rotating counterclockwise from top (following the right-hand rule). Why do we do the opposite when…
Phiteros
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