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The Milky Way [c] is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing 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.
The Solar System's location in the Milky Way is a factor in the evolutionary history of life on Earth. Spiral arms are home to a far larger concentration of supernovae , gravitational instabilities, and radiation that could disrupt the Solar System, but since Earth stays in the Local Spur and therefore does not pass frequently through spiral ...
A planetary mnemonic refers to a phrase created to remember the planets and dwarf planets of the Solar System, with the order of words corresponding to increasing sidereal periods of the bodies. One simple visual mnemonic is to hold out both hands side-by-side with thumbs in the same direction (typically left-hand facing palm down, and right ...
The current star in the North Pole. It is a Classical Cepheid variable, and the brightest example of its class. Arcturus (α Boötis) 25.4 ± 0.2: AD This is the nearest red giant to the Earth, and the fourth brightest star in the night sky. Pollux (β Geminorum) 9.06 ± 0.03: AD The nearest giant star to the Earth. Spica (α Virginis A) 7.47 ...
The Solar System orbits within the Milky Way, a barred spiral galaxy that is a prominent member of the Local Group of galaxies. It is a rotating mass of gas, dust, stars and other objects, held together by mutual gravitational attraction.
The solar wind is traveling at supersonic speeds within the Solar System. At the termination shock, a standing shock wave , the solar wind falls below the speed of sound and becomes subsonic . It was previously thought that once subsonic, the solar wind would be shaped by the ambient flow of the interstellar medium, forming a blunt nose on one ...
The theory of galactocentrism was an important step in the development of cosmological models as speculation on the existence of other galaxies, comparable in size and structure to the Milky Way, placed the Earth in its proper perspective with respect to the rest of the universe. Shifts from heliocentrism to galactocentrism and later acentrism ...
Updated April 24, 2024 at 8:06 AM. Scientists say they have found new evidence that there is a hidden planet in our solar system. For years, some astronomers have been suggesting that unusual ...