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
6,356
confirmed worlds
Sagittarius A*
At the centre
Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*)
A supermassive black hole of 4.3 million ☉.
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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 GalaxyAlnilamCentral star of Orion's BeltVY Canis MajorisOne of the largest known stars by radiusAlnitakEasternmost star of Orion's Belt; brightest O-class star in the skyDenebOne of the most intrinsically luminous stars visible to the naked eyeMintakaWesternmost star of Orion's Belt; sits almost on the celestial equatorAntaresVast red supergiant, the heart of the ScorpionSaiphMarks Orion's knee; far hotter than Betelgeuse yet looks fainterBetelgeuseNearby red supergiant nearing supernovaHadar11th-brightest star in the night skyAcruxBrightest star in the Southern Cross; most southerly first-magnitude starMimosaSecond-brightest star in the Southern CrossSpicaBrightest star in VirgoCanopusSecond-brightest star in the night skyMiraPrototype of the Mira (long-period) variablesBellatrixThe Amazon Star; Orion's closest bright starPolarisThe North Star; nearest Cepheid to EarthAlbireoFamous gold-and-blue colour-contrast double starAchernarFlattest known star (extreme oblateness)AlphardBrightest star in Hydra, the largest constellationAldebaranBrightest star in Taurus; the eye of the BullRegulusBrightest star in Leo; spins so fast it is visibly flattenedArcturusBrightest star in the northern celestial hemisphereAlgolThe Demon Star; prototype eclipsing binary that visibly dims every 2.87 daysVegaHistorical zero point of the magnitude scaleMizarFamous naked-eye double with Alcor; first telescopic and first spectroscopic double discoveredRasalhagueBrightest star in OphiuchusFomalhautBright nearby star with a famous debris diskDenebolaMarks the tail of Leo the LionAltairOne of the nearest naked-eye stars; extremely rapid rotatorProcyonBrightest star in Canis MinorTabby's StarStar with unexplained irregular deep dimming eventsRigil KentaurusClosest Sun-like star to EarthTolimanClosest K-type (orange dwarf) star to EarthSiriusBrightest star in the night skyCapellaBrightest star in AurigaRigelBrightest star in OrionCastorA single point of light that is actually six stars
Zoom in · directions across the sky

Every world gravityfinder knows orbits a star here: 6,356 planets across 4,765 systems, sorted by the constellation they lie toward. Busiest first.

Cygnus1681Lyra1058Draco307Sagittarius231Virgo199Cancer142Aquarius133Scorpius114Taurus101Cetus99Leo91Pisces91Ursa Major91Eridanus88Ophiuchus86Hydra85Centaurus83Hercules70Cassiopeia50Cepheus45Andromeda44Carina44Libra44Puppis44Pegasus42Boötes40Orion40Vela39Camelopardalis38Sextans38Hydrus36Monoceros36Fornax34Phoenix34Pictor34Canis Major33Lepus33Aquila30Gemini29Aries28Perseus28Reticulum28Coma Berenices27Ursa Minor27Volans27Sculptor26Serpens26Pavo25Tucana25Capricornus24Lupus23Mensa23Octans23Dorado22Lynx22Crater21Auriga20Canes Venatici20Telescopium20Ara19Leo Minor19Horologium18Grus16Microscopium16Columba15Vulpecula15Caelum14Corona Borealis14Apus13Canis Minor13Musca12Chamaeleon11Indus11Lacerta11Piscis Austrinus11Antlia10Delphinus10Pyxis10Corvus9Sagitta8Equuleus7Norma6Circinus5Corona 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