Home galaxy of Earth, the Milky Way is a spiral-shaped system of a few hundred billion stars. Bright regions of recently formed stars highlight its arms, while older stars explode or expel the outer layers as planetary nebulae, then fade away and die. A thick swarm of orange and red stars marks the galactic bulge, encapsulating the star-packed galactic center. At its core may lie a black hole, and the scale is staggering: Light from a star at one edge of the galaxy takes about 100,000 years to reach the opposite side.
Explore the Milky Way with this gorgeous computer-generated image. Showing the entire galaxy in one perspective of a 3D model, this map incorporates the positions of hundreds of thousands of stars and nebulae. It shows Earth's location near the Orion Arm, and includes additional photographs, descriptions, and locations of fascinating and stunning phenomena throughout the galaxy.
Star clusters, interstellar gas and dust, nebulae, young stars, molecular clouds, and galactic bursts are all depicted on this map in vivid blasts of color against the darkness of space. Read about phenomena like the eerie "ghosts of a star," whose tendrils can be seen with binoculars from Earth.
This map makes an essential companion to Solar System: The Sun's Neighborhood, and its size makes it perfect for a gallery wall.
This map is found in National Geographic's 10th Edition World Atlas, published to mark the 100th anniversary of National Geographic Cartography, and is now available as a stand alone product.
Printed on high quality thick paper strong enough for display on your wall.
Your map is rolled and packaged in a sturdy tube to protect it during shipment.