how can its size be described?
It is the second-largest galaxy in the Local Group, it is approximately 890 billion times the mass of the Sun. To compare the relative physical scale of the Milky Way, if the Solar System out to Neptune were the size of a US quarter, the Milky Way would be approximately the size of the contiguous United States.
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the second-largest galaxy in the Local Group (after the Andromeda Galaxy), with its stellar disk approximately in diameter and, on average, approximately thick. The Milky Way is approximately 890 billion times the mass of the Sun. To compare the relative physical scale of the Milky Way, if the Solar System out to Neptune were the size of a US quarter (), the Milky Way would be approximately the size of the contiguous United States. There is a ring-like filament of stars rippling above and below the relatively flat galactic plane, wrapping around the Milky Way at a diameter of , which may be part of the Milky Way itself.
how many stars r in the milky way It is estimated to contain 100–400 billion stars
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Milky Way [SEP] Size and mass
The Milky Way is the second-largest galaxy in the Local Group (after the Andromeda Galaxy), with its stellar disk approximately in diameter and, on average, approximately thick. The Milky Way is approximately 890 billion times the mass of the Sun. To compare the relative physical scale of the Milky Way, if the Solar System out to Neptune were the size of a US quarter (), the Milky Way would be approximately the size of the contiguous United States. There is a ring-like filament of stars rippling above and below the relatively flat galactic plane, wrapping around the Milky Way at a diameter of , which may be part of the Milky Way itself.