How was 500 billions sun masses calculated as the mass of the Milky Way?

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How was 500 billions sun masses calculated as the mass of the Milky Way?

2007-02-10 05:19:11 · 1 answers · asked by goring 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space

1 answers

You can estimate the mass of an object by measuring the speed and distance of an object orbiting it. Like using a moon of Jupiter to calculate the mass of Jupiter. I am guessing that they measured a star cluster orbiting the Milky Way and estimated the mass from that information. Some guesswork was involved, I am sure.

2007-02-10 05:32:40 · answer #1 · answered by rscanner 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋