Milky Way

American  

[mil-kee wey] / ˈmɪl ki ˈweɪ /

noun

Astronomy.

1. the spiral galaxy containing our solar system: with the naked eye it appears as a faint luminous band stretching across the heavens, composed of approximately a trillion stars, most of which are too distant to be seen individually.

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Milky Way British  

noun

1. the diffuse band of light stretching across the night sky that consists of millions of faint stars, nebulae, etc, within our Galaxy

2. another name for the Galaxy

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Milky Way Scientific  

/ mĭl′kē /

1. The spiral galaxy that contains our solar system. Made up of an estimated two hundred billion stars or more, it is seen from Earth as an irregular band of hazy light across the night sky. The solar system is located in one of the revolving spiral arms, about 50 light-years north of the galactic plane and some 27,700 light-years from the galaxy's center, which lies in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. It takes approximately 250 million years for the solar system to orbit the galactic center, which is believed to contain a massive black hole. The Milky Way measures about 100,000 light-years in diameter and is the second largest galaxy, after the Andromeda Galaxy, in the cluster known as the Local Group.

2. See also spiral galaxy

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Milky Way Cultural  

1. The galaxy to which our sun belongs.

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Discover More

The Milky Way is also the swath of light in the night sky produced by the other stars in the galaxy.

Etymology

Origin of Milky Way

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, translation of Latin via lactea; cf. galaxy

Example Sentences

Its galactic bulge survey alone will observe approximately 100 million stars while exploring regions of the Milky Way that remain largely uncharted.

From Science Daily • Jun. 1, 2026

Weather-permitting, and when conditions are right, the Highlands offers the chance to see the Milky Way and displays of the aurora borealis - the Northern Lights.

From BBC • May 28, 2026

The discovery provides researchers with an important new clue about the hidden magnetic architecture of the Milky Way and could help scientists better understand how galaxies evolve over time.

From Science Daily • May 20, 2026

However, scientists estimate the Milky Way could contain anywhere from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of neutron stars.

From Science Daily • May 15, 2026

Not far outside the Galaxy there are almost certainly planets, orbiting stars in the Magellanic Clouds and in the globular clusters that surround the Milky Way.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan