According to an answer given in this forum...?

Question

The speeds of these objects were given as:

Earth around the sun -- 67,108 mph
Earth and sun around the Milky Way galaxy -- 559,234 mph
Milky Way galaxy through space -- 1,342,161 mph

I have no quibble with the answer, and I understand the first and second objects, but my question is, how do you determine the speed of our galaxy through space? What is the frame of reference? What fixed point is this speed relative to?

Thanks ronin -- very informative

Hop0409 -- did you even read my question???

Answer 1

That;s a good question. Others would agree with you:

"In conclusion, galaxies experience neutral attractions on one other. Due to relativity, the speed of the Milky Way varies when compared with different objects in space. For example, I have learned from my research that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy are approaching each other with a speed of about 130 km/s, however the collision of these two galaxies will not occur for about 5 billion years (AstroFile). Another result I found was that our galaxy and neighbors are moving at 600 km/s in the direction of the constellation Hydra (Scientific American). Finally, I found that the Milky Way moves through space within the cluster of galaxies it is a member of, and this cluster in turn moves through space towards yet another larger cluster of galaxies off in the direction of the constellation Virgo. This speed is approximately 300 km/s (Ask the Space Scientist). Therefore, the speed of the Milky Way galaxy is not a single number, its value is relative to the speed of other objects."

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/PatriciaKong.shtml

Answer 2

Astronomers do not understand clearly how galactic spirals evolved and why they still exist. The mystery arises when one considers how a spiral galaxy rotates. The galaxy spins much like the cream on the surface of a cup of coffee. The inner part of the galaxy rotates somewhat like a solid wheel, and the arms trail behind. Suppose a spiral arm rotated around the center of its galaxy in about 250 million years -- as in the Milky Way. After a few rotations, taking perhaps 2 billion years, the arms would "wind up," producing a fairly continuous mass of stars. But almost all spiral galaxies are much older than 2 billion years.

Answer 3

I saw that and was wondering the same