"You will behold through the telescope a host of stars, which escape the unassisted sight.. so numerous as to be almost beyond belief "

~ Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

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Our Solar System in The Milky Way Galaxy

Our planetary system is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy

There are an estimated 400 Billion stars in the Milky Way, and our sun is just one insignificant star on one of the outer arms of the giant spiral, no where near the center

Why is it Called the Solar System?

There are many planetary systems like ours in the universe, with planets orbiting a host star. Our planetary system is named the "solar system" because our Sun is named Sol, after the Latin word for Sun, "solis," and anything related to the Sun we call "solar"

Our solar system consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity – the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets such as Pluto; hundreds of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids

Beyond our own solar system, we have discovered thousands of planetary systems orbiting other stars in the Milky Way

Astronomy News - October 2025

Close Shave

Surprise asteroid flies by Earth at only 250 miles away

The little space rock, called 2025 TF, safely passed within roughly 250 miles (400 km) of our planet on Tuesday (Sept. 30) at 8:49 p.m. EDT (Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 0049 GMT), according to NASA data. That flyby puts the asteroid at the same approximate altitude as the International Space Station.

The new asteroid, 2025 TF, is small by space standards. It is about the size of a couch, with an estimated diameter of between three and nine feet (1.2 and 2.7 meters). According to The Watchers, astronomers found this new asteroid a few hours after its closest approach.

A rock the size of 2025 TF (1–3 meters across) would almost certainly burn up in the atmosphere. Even if a dense fragment survived, the damage would be very local, not regional.

Bottom line:

• Over land: dazzling sky show; at most localized damage within hundreds of meters if a rare small crater formed.
• Over sea: harmless airburst/splash, no tsunami.

So even if a 2025 TF-sized rock had hit, it would’ve been scary to see but minor on the ground.

When Galaxies Collide

Watch the Milky Way Galaxy collide with the Andromeda Galaxy, 3 billion years from now

▶️ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BS21QuX_tGU

This Will Blow your Mind

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