The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy from "summary" of The Milky Way by Moiya McTier
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, a vast collection of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity. When we look up at the night sky, we see a band of light stretching across the heavens - this is the Milky Way. What makes the Milky Way unique among galaxies is its distinctive spiral shape. Spiral galaxies are characterized by a flat, rotating disk of stars, with spiral arms winding out from a dense central region known as the bulge. In the case of the Milky Way, our solar system is located in one of the outer spiral arms, about two-thirds of the way out from the center. From our vantage point, we see the rest of the galaxy spread out before us in a glorious spiral pattern. The spiral arms of the Milky Way are regions of intense star formation, where new stars are born from the clouds of gas and dust that populate the galaxy. These young, hot stars give the arms their characteristic blue color, contrasting with the older, cooler stars that make up the rest of the galaxy. While the spiral arms are dynamic and ever-changing, the central bulge of the Milky Way remains relatively stable. Here, stars are packed closely together, orbiting the supermassive black hole that lurks at the heart of the galaxy.- The spiral structure of the Milky Way is a testament to the beauty and complexity of the universe we inhabit. It is a reminder of the vastness of space and the wonders that lie beyond our own small corner of the cosmos.
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