stellar associations
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What Are Spiral Arms?
Probably the most spectacular feature of our Milky Way galaxy is its spiral arms. We can’t get a probe far enough out yet to take a galactic selfie, but astronomers are reasonably sure that we live in a spiral galaxy.…
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Exploring the Milky Way’s Spiral Arms
The Milky Way — our home galaxy — is a spiral galaxy, a classification I often describe as pinwheel-shaped. The main difference between a spiral galaxy’s shape and a pinwheel’s shape is that spiral galaxies, like the Milky Way, only…
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Structure of the Milky Way
In the vast expanse of the cosmos, the Milky Way Galaxy is our home. You’ve no doubt seen images of the Milky Way and similar galaxies elsewhere online. It’s a large, spiral galaxy, one of the most spectacular galactic shapes.…
