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Galaxy rotation curve for the Milky Way – vertical axis is speed of rotation about the galactic center; horizontal axis is distance from the galactic center in kpcs; the sun is marked with a yellow ball; the observed curve of speed of rotation is blue; the predicted curve based upon stellar mass and gas in the Milky Way is red; scatter in ...
Nearby dwarf galaxies are still being discovered, and galaxies located behind the central plane of the Milky Way are extremely difficult to discern. It is possible for any galaxy to mask another located beyond it. Intergalactic distance measurements are subject to large uncertainties.
The Andromeda Galaxy is approaching the Milky Way at about 110 kilometres (68 miles) per second. [128] It has been measured approaching relative to the Sun at around 300 km/s (190 mi/s) [1] as the Sun orbits around the center of the galaxy at a speed of approximately 225 km/s (140 mi/s).
The exact distance between the Solar System and the Galactic Center is not certain, [14] although estimates since 2000 have remained within the range 24–28.4 kilolight-years (7.4–8.7 kiloparsecs ). [15] The latest estimates from geometric-based methods and standard candles yield the following distances to the Galactic Center:
Satellite galaxies that orbit from 1,000 ly (310 pc) of the edge of the disc of the Milky Way Galaxy to the edge of the dark matter halo of the Milky Way at 980,000 ly (300 kpc) from the center of the galaxy, [a] are generally depleted in hydrogen gas compared to those that orbit more distantly.
The Orion Arm, also known as the Orion–Cygnus Arm, is a minor spiral arm within the Milky Way Galaxy spanning 3,500 light-years (1,100 parsecs) in width and extending roughly 10,000 light-years (3,100 parsecs) in length. [2] This galactic structure encompasses the Solar System, including Earth.
At a distance of around 50 kiloparsecs (163,000 light-years ), [2] [8] [9] [10] the LMC is the second- or third-closest galaxy to the Milky Way, after the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal ( c. 16 kiloparsecs (52,000 light-years) away) and the possible dwarf irregular galaxy called the Canis Major Overdensity.
Galactic coordinate system. Artist's depiction of the Milky Way Galaxy showing the origin and orientation of galactic longitude. The galactic longitude ( l) runs from the Sun upwards in the image through the center of the galaxy. The galactic latitude ( b) is perpendicular to the image (i.e. coming out of the image) and also centered on the Sun.
Navigation in the Milky Way is also identified with cardinal directions, indicating distance from the Sol System: for example, Ultima Segmentum, the largest segmentum in the Imperium of Man, is located to the galactic east of the Sol System.
The rotation curve of a disc galaxy (also called a velocity curve) is a plot of the orbital speeds of visible stars or gas in that galaxy versus their radial distance from that galaxy's centre.