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Why is it difficult to specify the dimensions of the disk and halo of the Milky Way?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
Imagine that you were inside a large office building. Quick, what does it look like from the outside? That's basically why. While nearly all the individual stars we can see are in the Milky Way galaxy, we can only see a small fraction of them and being inside it, with dust clouds getting in the way (we can't even see, visually, the center of the galaxy, because of all the dust), it's kind of hard to tell what the overall shape is.
Now, to put things into perspective: when we say that we're "not certain" of the shape, what we really mean is fine detail. Just as if you were in the central courtyard of the Pentagon, you could be pretty sure that the building is pentagonal, the chances of the Milky Way NOT being a spiral galaxy are so close to zero as to be indistinguishable from it in any practical sense, and we're pretty sure it's a barred spiral. Exactly how many arms and how many times they wrap around ... that we can't really tell, but the gross structure is pretty nearly a dead lock.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoThere currently is not any capability to see the entire galaxy at once. Because of this, there is no way of getting exact measurements, only approximations.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoBecause they lack sharp boundaries. They are not well defined objects.
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What Forms of radiation passes most easily through the disk of the Milky Way?
infrared light
How far is your solar system from center of milky way?
The Sun is about 27,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way, roughly 2/3rds the way out from the center to the edge of the galactic disk.
Where can you find cosmic rays?
Through Milky way galaxy , most cosmic rays come from the Galaxy's disk.
If the Sun and Earth were at the edge of the disk of the Milky Way Galaxy what would be the diameter of the galaxy in light years?
It wouldn't matter where the Sun was, the Milky Way Galaxy would still have a diameter of around 100,000 light years.
10 interestering facts about the milky way?
The Milky Way, sometimes called simply the Galaxy, is the galaxy in which the Solar System is located. It is a barred spiral galaxy that is part of the Local Group of galaxies. It is one of billions of galaxies in the observable universe. See link for more information
In what disk of the Milky Way is your solar system located?
Our solar system is located in the thin disk of the Milky Way.
What Is thin gas and clusters of stars surrounds the disk of the milky way galaxy?
what is the thin gas and clusters of stars surrounds the disk of the Milky Way Galaxy.
What is the distance across the milky way disk?
The Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across.
How can directly write to a removable disk?
Specify your Operating System.
Which stars were born first as the Milky Way formed?
The stars throughout the disk.
How big is the Milky Way?
The stellar disk of the Milky Way galaxy is approximately 100,000 light years in diameter and about 10,000 light years in thickness.
How are stars in the disk of the milky way different from stars in the bulge or halo?
The ones in the bulge or halo are older star, the ones in the disk are younger.
Whats the shape of the Milky Way?
It looks more like a gigantic disk, with a bulge in the middle.
What Forms of radiation passes most easily through the disk of the Milky Way?
infrared light
What is the Milky Way true shape?
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, so it slightly resembles a spiraled disk. Nevertheless, it is impossible to assign an exact shape to a dynamic celestial object.
How far is your solar system from center of milky way?
The Sun is about 27,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way, roughly 2/3rds the way out from the center to the edge of the galactic disk.
What main conclusion did the Herschels draw from their star counts?
The Milky Way is a disk of stars with the sun near the center.
