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By comparison, the total mass of all the stars in the Milky Way is estimated to be between 4.6 × 10 10 M ☉ and 6.43 × 10 10 M ☉.
The rate of star formation in the Milky Way is much higher, with the Andromeda Galaxy producing only about one solar mass per year compared to 3–5 solar masses for the Milky Way. The rate of novae in the Milky Way is also double that of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Galaxies are categorized according to their visual morphology as elliptical, [5] spiral, or irregular. [6] The Milky Way is an example of a spiral galaxy. It is estimated that there are between 200 billion [7] ( 2 × 1011) to 2 trillion [8] galaxies in the observable universe.
While the Andromeda Galaxy contains about 1 trillion (10 12) stars and the Milky Way contains about 300 billion (3 × 10 11 ), the chance of even two stars colliding is negligible because of the huge distances between the stars.
In November 2013, astronomers reported, based on Kepler space mission data, that there could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of sun-like stars and red dwarf stars within the Milky Way Galaxy. 11 billion of these estimated planets may be orbiting sun-like stars.
The Virgo Supercluster's volume is very approximately 7,000 times that of the Local Group, or 100 billion times that of the Milky Way. Galaxy distribution. The number density of galaxies in the LS falls off with the square of the distance from its center near the Virgo Cluster, suggesting that this cluster is not randomly located.
In November 2013, it was estimated that 22±8% of Sun-like stars in the Milky Way galaxy may have an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone. Assuming 200 billion stars in the Milky Way, that would be 11 billion potentially habitable Earths, rising to 40 billion if red dwarfs are included.
Ceers-2112 formed soon after the big bang created the universe (which is estimated to be 13.8 billion years old), and the galaxy’s distinct structure was already in place 2.1 billion years later.
The galaxies in the Local Group, the cluster of galaxies which includes the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy, are gravitationally bound to each other. It is expected that between 10 11 (100 billion) and 10 12 (1 trillion) years from now, their orbits will decay and the entire Local Group will merge into one large galaxy.
Astronomers have assembled star catalogues that identify the known stars and provide standardized stellar designations. The observable universe contains an estimated 1022 to 1024 stars. Only about 4,000 of these stars are visible to the naked eye—all within the Milky Way galaxy.