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  2. Milky Way - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way

    The apex of the Sun's way, or the solar apex, is the direction that the Sun travels through space in the Milky Way. The general direction of the Sun's Galactic motion is towards the star Vega near the constellation of Hercules, at an angle of roughly 60 sky degrees to the direction of the Galactic Center. The Sun's orbit about the Milky Way is ...

  3. Galactic coordinate system - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_coordinate_system

    The galactic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system in spherical coordinates, with the Sun as its center, the primary direction aligned with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the fundamental plane parallel to an approximation of the galactic plane but offset to its north.

  4. Galaxy rotation curve - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_rotation_curve

    Attempts to model of galaxy rotation based on a general relativity metric, showing that the rotation curves for the Milky Way, NGC 3031, NGC 3198 and NGC 7331 are consistent with the mass density distributions of the visible matter [44] and other similar work [45] have been disputed. [46]

  5. Retrograde and prograde motion - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrograde_and_prograde_motion

    The Milky Way's outer halo has many globular clusters with a retrograde orbit [38] and with a retrograde or zero rotation. [39] The structure of the halo is the topic of an ongoing debate. Several studies have claimed to find a halo consisting of two distinct components.

  6. Galactic orientation - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_orientation

    The result yields a direction perpendicular to the galactic plane. [1] In the case of the Milky Way, this is given by the coordinates of the galactic pole. Galactic clusters [2] [3] are gravitationally bound large-scale structures of multiple galaxies. The evolution of these aggregates is determined by time and manner of formation and the ...

  7. Galactic Center - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_Center

    The nature of the Milky Way's bar, which extends across the Galactic Center, is also actively debated, with estimates for its half-length and orientation spanning between 1–5 kpc (short or a long bar) and 10–50°. [23] [25] [27] Certain authors advocate that the Milky Way features two distinct bars, one nestled within the other. [28]

  8. Astronomical coordinate systems - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_coordinate...

    The galactic coordinate system uses the approximate plane of the Milky Way Galaxy as its fundamental plane. The Solar System is still the center of the coordinate system, and the zero point is defined as the direction towards the Galactic Center. Galactic latitude resembles the elevation above the galactic plane and galactic longitude ...

  9. Oort constants - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_constants

    Figure 1: Geometry of the Oort constants derivation, with a field star close to the Sun in the midplane of the Galaxy. Consider a star in the midplane of the Galactic disk with Galactic longitude at a distance from the Sun. Assume that both the star and the Sun have circular orbits around the center of the Galaxy at radii of and from the Galactic Center and rotational velocities of and ...