The milky way

The Milky Way is the name given to the faint band of light that stretches across the night sky. 

This light comes from stars and nebulae in our galaxy, known as the Milky Way galaxy or 

simply as “the galaxy”. The galaxy is believed to be a barred spiral, with a dense central bar

 of stars encircled by four arms spiralling outwards and surrounded by a less dense halo.  We 

cannot see the spiral shape because the solar system is in one of the spiral arms, the Orion                    arm.

From our position, the centre of the galaxy is completely obscured by dust clouds; as a result, 

optical maps give only a limited view of the galaxy. However, a more complete picture can be 

obtained by studying radio, infra-red, and other radiation. The central part of the galaxy is 

relatively small and dense and dense and contains mainly older red and yellow stars.