The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System. The name describes the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.

Radius: 52,850.0417 light years

Stars: 250 billion ± 150 billion

Sun's Galactic rotation period: 240 Myr

Sun's distance to Galactic Center: 26.4 ± 1.0 kly (8.09 ± 0.31 kpc)

Spiral pattern rotation period: 220–360 Myr

Did you know: It takes between 225 million and 250 million years for the Sun to orbit the Milky Way.