The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy that contains our solar system and billions of other stars. It has a diameter of about 100,000 light-years and features a central bulge and multiple spiral arms filled with stars, gas, and dust. The galaxy is home to an estimated 100 to 400 billion stars, as well as planets and celestial bodies. At its center lies a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*, which has a mass millions of times that of the Sun.
The Milky Way is part of the Local Group, which includes over 50 other galaxies, such as the Andromeda Galaxy. It formed around 13.6 billion years ago and continues to evolve through interactions with neighboring galaxies. Studying the Milky Way helps astronomers understand galaxy formation and evolution. Ongoing observations from telescopes provide insights into its structure, dynamics, and dark matter presence, making it a key area of exploration in astrophysics.