HOW MANY STARS DOES THE MILK ROUTE HAVE?

The Milky Way galaxy is an awe-inspiring sight to behold. Spanning an estimated 100,000–120,000 light-years in diameter, our home galaxy is one of the largest of its kind in the universe, and one of the most studied. According to a recent study, the Milky Way contains an estimated 200 billion stars — more than double the previous estimate.

This new estimate was made possible thanks to data gathered from the Gaia space telescope, a joint project of the European Space Agency and NASA. Gaia was designed to chart the precise positions and movements of roughly 1.7 billion stars in the Milky Way, and its data has enabled astronomers to derive a much more accurate estimate of the number of stars in our galaxy. The new number of 200 billion stars is a staggering figure, and is more than double the previous estimate of 100 billion. This means that the Milky Way is even more immense than previously thought, and contains more stars than any other galaxy in the Local Group.

In addition to its sheer size, the Milky Way is also home to a wide variety of stars, planets, and other objects. This includes our own Solar System, with its eight planets and five dwarf planets. With more than 200 billion stars, our home galaxy is truly an impressive sight.