Milk·y Way (m l k )n. The galaxy containing the solar system, visible as a broad band of faint light in the night sky. [Middle English, translation of Latin via lactea : via, way + lactea, feminine of lacteus, milky.] |
Milky Way
n
the
1. (Astronomy & Space / Celestial Objects) the diffuse band of light stretching across the night sky that consists of millions of faint stars, nebulae, etc., within our Galaxy
2. (Astronomy & Space / Celestial Objects) another name for the Galaxy
[translation of Latin via lactea]
| Milky Way (mlk) 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. See also spiral galaxy. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  Milky Way - the galaxy containing the solar system; consists of millions of stars that can be seen as a diffuse band of light stretching across the night skyextragalactic nebula, galaxy - (astronomy) a collection of star systems; any of the billions of systems each having many stars and nebulae and dust; "`extragalactic nebula' is a former name for `galaxy'" heliosphere - the region inside the heliopause containing the sun and solar system Crux, Crux Australis, Southern Cross - a small conspicuous constellation in the southern hemisphere in the Milky Way near Centaurus |
Translations
Milky Way
n → Milchstraße f
Milky Way n the Milky Way → la Via Lattea
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