What is the Milky Way?
The Milky Way is a huge group of stars, gas and dust held together in space. A group like this is called a galaxy. The Milky Way contains billions of stars, and our Sun is just one of them. Our Solar System, including the Earth, lives inside the Milky Way.
Key idea
From smallest to biggest: a planet is smaller than a star, and a galaxy is far bigger, holding billions of stars.
Seeing the Milky Way
On a clear, dark night far from city lights, the Milky Way looks like a pale, milky band of light stretched across the sky. That soft glow is the light of many, many stars that are too far to see one by one.
Example
In a bright city you may see only a few stars, but on a dark hill or beach you can see the whole misty band of the Milky Way.
Remember
- The Sun is a star.
- Our galaxy is not the only one — there are many other galaxies in space.