You are here...

 This map shows just how tiny the Milky Way is in the grand scheme of things:

We are very, very small in the grand scheme of things. Want to see just how small? Click the link for a full-size image.

Our observable universe is 13.8 billion years old. It’s about 93 billion light years in diameter. It contains at least 200 billion galaxies and over 700 quintillion planets. As of now, far more than 4,000 exoplanets have been confirmed.

They’re called exoplanets because they exist outside our solar system. At least 55 of them orbit in the habitable zone of other stars. Our Milky Way galaxy is 100,000 light-years across. That’s basically 946 quadrillion km (588 quadrillion mi).

The Milky Way galaxy contains up to 400 billion stars and anywhere between 100 to 200 billion planets. Our galaxy alone contains at least 6 billion Earth-like planets.

These are planets that may have the right conditions to support the existence of life. With all these astonishing numbers of galaxies, stars and planets, do you still think we’re alone in the universe?

Our solar system alone contains promising places where we could find alien life.

The list includes Titan (Saturn’s largest moon), Enceladus (Saturn’s sixth-largest moon), Europa (Jupiter’s ocean moon) and Mars.

See a full-size image: https://images.newscientist.com/.../030_1_ns_uk.jpg...

Image: Richard Powell/NASA

as posted on FB page:

Hashem Al-Ghaili

Note: there are other models of the universe that are not cylindrical.

Learn more: https://science.nasa.gov/.../our-milky-way-galaxy-how.../

Image credit: Caltech