A large spiral galaxy consisting of several hundred billion stars, dust and gas.The galaxy that includes our solar system, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.
Etymology:
The term Milky Way is a translation of the Latin via lactea, from the Greek γαλακτικός κύκλος (galaktikos kýklos), meaning "milky circle”.
