Milky Way

Home galaxy

Our home galaxy: a barred spiral of a few hundred billion stars, with every confirmed exoplanet so far orbiting one of them. We sit about 26,000 light-years from its central black hole.

Milky Way, a barred spiral galaxy
Artist's concept · top-down view, not a photographNASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC/Caltech) · PD
Barred spiral
type · SBbc
100k ly
across
6,449
confirmed worlds
Sagittarius A*
At the centre
Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*)
A supermassive black hole of 4.3 million ☉.
Zoom in →
Black holes here
Cygnus X-1Cygnus X-121.2 ☉→GRS 1915+105GRS 1915+10512.4 ☉→V404 CygniV404 Cygni9.0 ☉→A0620-00A0620-006.6 ☉→GRO J1655-40GRO J1655-406.3 ☉→
Notable stars here
Eta CarinaeOne of the most massive and luminous stars in the Galaxy→AlnilamCentral star of Orion's Belt→VY Canis MajorisOne of the largest known stars by radius→AlnitakEasternmost star of Orion's Belt; brightest O-class star in the sky→DenebOne of the most intrinsically luminous stars visible to the naked eye→MintakaWesternmost star of Orion's Belt; sits almost on the celestial equator→AntaresVast red supergiant, the heart of the Scorpion→SaiphMarks Orion's knee; far hotter than Betelgeuse yet looks fainter→BetelgeuseNearby red supergiant nearing supernova→Hadar11th-brightest star in the night sky→AcruxBrightest star in the Southern Cross; most southerly first-magnitude star→MimosaSecond-brightest star in the Southern Cross→SpicaBrightest star in Virgo→CanopusSecond-brightest star in the night sky→MiraPrototype of the Mira (long-period) variables→BellatrixThe Amazon Star; Orion's closest bright star→PolarisThe North Star; nearest Cepheid to Earth→AlbireoFamous gold-and-blue colour-contrast double star→AchernarFlattest known star (extreme oblateness)→AlphardBrightest star in Hydra, the largest constellation→AldebaranBrightest star in Taurus; the eye of the Bull→RegulusBrightest star in Leo; spins so fast it is visibly flattened→ArcturusBrightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere→AlgolThe Demon Star; prototype eclipsing binary that visibly dims every 2.87 days→VegaHistorical zero point of the magnitude scale→MizarFamous naked-eye double with Alcor; first telescopic and first spectroscopic double discovered→RasalhagueBrightest star in Ophiuchus→FomalhautBright nearby star with a famous debris disk→DenebolaMarks the tail of Leo the Lion→AltairOne of the nearest naked-eye stars; extremely rapid rotator→ProcyonBrightest star in Canis Minor→Tabby's StarStar with unexplained irregular deep dimming events→Rigil KentaurusClosest Sun-like star to Earth→TolimanClosest K-type (orange dwarf) star to Earth→SiriusBrightest star in the night sky→CapellaBrightest star in Auriga→RigelBrightest star in Orion→CastorA single point of light that is actually six stars→Sirius BNearest white dwarf to Earth→
Zoom in · directions across the sky

Every world gravityfinder knows orbits a star here: 6,449 planets across 4,844 systems, sorted by the constellation they lie toward. Busiest first.

Cygnus1684Lyra1059Draco316Sagittarius235Virgo200Cancer143Aquarius133Scorpius117Taurus103Cetus100Leo95Pisces95Ursa Major91Eridanus90Ophiuchus88Hydra87Centaurus84Hercules72Cassiopeia50Pegasus47Carina46Puppis46Andromeda45Cepheus45Libra44Boötes41Camelopardalis40Hydrus40Orion40Sextans39Vela39Monoceros38Pictor38Fornax35Lepus35Phoenix34Canis Major33Volans32Gemini31Aquila30Aries29Perseus29Reticulum29Ursa Minor29Coma Berenices27Sculptor27Pavo26Serpens26Tucana25Capricornus24Mensa24Dorado23Lupus23Octans23Lynx22Crater21Leo Minor21Auriga20Canes Venatici20Telescopium20Ara19Horologium19Columba17Grus16Microscopium16Vulpecula15Caelum14Corona Borealis14Apus13Canis Minor13Chamaeleon12Musca12Indus11Lacerta11Piscis Austrinus11Antlia10Delphinus10Pyxis10Corvus9Norma8Sagitta8Equuleus7Circinus5Corona Australis5Scutum5Triangulum4Triangulum Australe4Crux3
Nearest galaxies
Large Magellanic CloudIrregular160,000 ly
apart
Small Magellanic CloudIrregular200,000 ly
apart
AndromedaSpiral2.5 million ly
apart
TriangulumSpiral2.7 million ly
apart
SculptorStarburst11 million ly
apart
CigarStarburst12 million ly
apart
← all galaxies