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The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with a diameter of 26.8 ± 1.1 kiloparsecs (87,400 ± 3,600 light-years ). It is a barred spiral galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its center and many satellite galaxies.
Learn about the hypothetical crewed or uncrewed travel between galaxies, and the possible methods and challenges involved. Explore the concepts of hypervelocity stars, time dilation, superluminal methods, and wormholes.
The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere, and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun, shaped by the solar wind and the interstellar medium. It extends far beyond the Solar System and protects it from cosmic radiation, and has a comet-like structure with a heliotail.
The Great Silence theory is one of the possible explanations for the Fermi paradox, which asks why there is no evidence of extraterrestrial life in the universe. It suggests that intelligent civilizations are rare, short-lived, or isolated, and that humans are alone in the galaxy.
The Great Attractor is a massive concentration of galaxies that pulls on the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies. It is located in the direction of the constellations Triangulum Australe and Norma, and is part of the Laniakea Supercluster.
The habitable zone (HZ) is the range of orbits around a star where liquid water can exist on a planet. Learn about the origin, evolution and application of the HZ concept, and see how it applies to the Solar System and exoplanets.
Learn about the history, techniques, and achievements of interplanetary travel, the crewed or uncrewed exploration of planets and stars. Find out the reasons, challenges, and benefits of this type of spaceflight, as well as the current and future missions.
Learn about the Sun and the objects that orbit it, including the eight planets, the nine dwarf planets, and the small bodies such as asteroids, comets, and moons. Explore the formation, evolution, and features of the Solar System and its place in the Milky Way galaxy.