The Milky Way is not a grand spiral galaxy; it lacks extended outer arms and is instead a barred spiral with a smaller, elliptical-like center.
From our position on Earth, we view the Milky Way edge-on, which leaves us with an ambiguous understanding of its overall structure and characteristics.
While one-third of spiral galaxies feature bars, the Milky Way's central bar is notably smaller, distinguishing it from similar galaxies like NGC 1300.
The Milky Way exhibits both major and minor arms, with star formation primarily occurring within the outer arms, making it relatively quiet compared to other galaxies.
Collection
[
|
...
]