Our solar system is located on one of the spiral arms, not in the middle. When we look up at the night sky and see a soft band of white light, we are seeing part of our galaxy from the inside.
The center of the Milky Way is full of stars, gas, and even a supermassive black hole. But it’s very far away—about 26,000 light years from Earth. We can’t see it with our eyes, but scientists use special telescopes to study it.
There are many types of galaxies—spiral, elliptical, and irregular—but the Milky Way is our home. Learning about it helps us understand how stars are born, how planets form, and how huge the universe really is.
Even though we live on a small planet in a huge galaxy, we are part of something beautiful and amazing. And there’s still so much more to discover.