Fun facts about the Milky Way, the galaxy we live in

The MIlky Way is about 13.6 billion years old, almost as old as the universe. – Photo: EDDIE CHUA

• The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure and spiral arms extending outwards.
• The Milky Way is estimated to have between 100 billion and 400 billion stars.
• The Milky Way is about 13.6 billion years old, almost as old as the universe.
• The Milky Way rotates at about 270 kilometres per second.
• The centre of the Milky Way is home to a supermassive black hole that is about four million times more massive than the sun.
• The Milky Way’s disc is about 100,000 light years in diameter and 1,000 light years thick.