Milky Way

Aims

• To introduce our Milky Way galaxy, its shape, size and spiral structure, and the location of the Sun within it.
• To introduce the concept of a 'light year' and give examples of distances using this unit of measurement.
• To map the stars of the Sun's neighbourhood in the Milky Way, and to introduce the different colours and intrinsic brightnesses of stars.
• To illustrate the various processes and stages involved in the birth, evolution and death of stars, including nova and supernova explosions, and supernova remnants.