Milky Way

[ mil-kee wey ]

noun

, Astronomy.

1. the spiral galaxy containing our solar system: with the naked eye it appears as a faint luminous band stretching across the heavens, composed of approximately a trillion stars, most of which are too distant to be seen individually.

Milky Way

noun

1. the diffuse band of light stretching across the night sky that consists of millions of faint stars, nebulae, etc, within our Galaxy
2. another name for the Galaxy

Milky Way

/ mĭl′kē /

1. The spiral galaxy that contains our solar system. Made up of an estimated two hundred billion stars or more, it is seen from Earth as an irregular band of hazy light across the night sky. The solar system is located in one of the revolving spiral arms, about 50 light-years north of the galactic plane and some 27,700 light-years from the galaxy's center, which lies in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. It takes approximately 250 million years for the solar system to orbit the galactic center, which is believed to contain a massive black hole. The Milky Way measures about 100,000 light-years in diameter and is the second largest galaxy, after the Andromeda Galaxy, in the cluster known as the Local Group.
2. See also spiral galaxy

Milky Way

1. The galaxy to which our sun belongs.

Notes

The Milky Way is also the swath of light in the night sky produced by the other stars in the galaxy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Milky Way¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, translation of Latin via lactea; galaxy

Word History and Origins

Origin of Milky Way¹

C14: translation of Latin via lactea

Example Sentences

While varieties such as Twix, Three Musketeers and Milky Way contain only a small amount of chocolate, pure chocolate bars – especially dark chocolate – are rich in fiber and polyphenols.

From Salon

Spotting the Milky Way on a clear night is awe-inspiring enough.

From Slate

Joanne said she had captured other phenomena in the night skies this year including a rocket launch, the northern lights and the milky way.

From BBC

Whether there is the political skill to achieve it as a civilisation is another matter, he says - but he believes we have a duty to explore our galaxy, the Milky Way, which is filled with hundreds of billions of stars.

From BBC

If forced to hazard a guess, Prof Cox says it is probable that we are the only advanced civilisation in the Milky Way at the moment, and possibly the only one that has ever existed in the galaxy.

From BBC