2007-07-31 10:50:23 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
About 200 billion stars, give or take, in the Milky Way.
2007-07-31 10:53:52 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I can remember at one time in my life I had read three estimates of the number of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way.
The three numbers I had read were:
1. 100 billion
2. 200 billion
3. 400 billion
The answer of a few billion therefore is a pretty good all-round answer.
There are probably different ways to get such an estimate, but if I were to do it I would use the fact that the average distance between stars is five light years. The Milky Way Galaxy is 100,000 light years across and there are figures for the thickness.
So you could calculate a rough total volume for the galaxy and divide by a rough volume taken up by a typical star. This would be a very crude approach but the only one I could do myself right now.
I just did a rough calculation as I described and came up with
8 Trillion which is about 20 times greater than the highest estimate I've read.
If I change my estimate of the average thickness of the Milky way from 20 to 1 light year than it comes out close.
Maybe a better question could be asked and that is how do the experts come up with their estimates.
I'll stick with the higher number of 400 Billion
2007-07-31 11:29:24 · answer #2 · answered by andyg77 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most of the mass in the galaxy is NOT in interstellar gaseous and dust nebulae. Most of the luminous matter is in stars and not nebulae. Now, the mass of the galaxy is mostly dominated by dark matter, which is something that is not detected by any telescope, or anything except through its gravity. But as far as the luminous matter goes, most of it is stars.
About the number of stars: People have studied the mass distribution of stars in the galaxy. Further, one also knows the amount of light put out by each type of star. So, by measuring the total amount of light in the galaxy (called luminosity), and knowing the mass, one can estimate the number of stars that are there in the galaxy. So, even though we cannot actually count the number of stars in the galaxy, we can estimate the number of stars in the galaxy as roughly 100 billion (100,000,000,000). It turns out that there are many more stars with mass less than the mass of the Sun than with mass more than the mass of the Sun. So, it all works out right.
More info at URL ...
2007-07-31 10:58:13 · answer #3 · answered by Indiana Frenchman 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The estimate for our galaxy is about 400 billion; as far as we know, the Milkyway is a typical spiral galaxy. The Andromeda galaxy, a close neighbor is larger than ours by about 15%, and is estimated to hold about 480 billion to 500 billion stars.
We're orbited by a number of small, irregular galaxies, which hold a few hundred million stars.
2007-07-31 11:10:55 · answer #4 · answered by quantumclaustrophobe 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The current estimate is thought to be a 200 billion stars in our galaxy (The Milky Way). Some say there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand in the world. Now if you think about that for a moment, that includes all the beaches and all the deserts. (Our sun would be just one grain!)
When it comes to thinking about very large numbers I find it very difficult to imagine just how many stars are in our galaxy. I will try to explain how I do it. I try to think of them in shapes, imagine a line of 10 dots .......... and then imagine 10 lines of those dots and put them in a row so that you have a square. [] Now imagine 10 of those squares on top of each other so that it looks like a cube. You now have 1000 dots. Imagine 10 cubes in a line and then 10 lines of those cubes to make a square. Then make 10 of those squares to make a huge cube. You now have a million dots. Now imagine 10 huge cubes in a line and then 10 of those lines into a massive square. Now make a massive cube from that massive square. You now have a billion dots. Now imagine 10 of those massive cubes and put them in a line then 10 of those lines to make a square and double it and that's the amount of stars (give or take) in our galaxy.
If you find it hard to imagine, try drawing it on paper, and just shorthand anything above a line of 10, it will still take you a few minutes but you get some idea of the huge numbers involved.
2007-07-31 16:43:32 · answer #5 · answered by thoughthard 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Maximum of eight including the driver, but rarely any as what star would want to be seen in a Ford other than a Mustang :!
Sorry wrong Galaxy :-- uncountable
2007-07-31 11:08:00 · answer #6 · answered by Easy Peasy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that depends on the galaxy - our milky way is a medium sized galaxy with a few hundred billion stars, some galaxies have trillions of stars, some have only a few billion.
2007-07-31 10:55:01 · answer #7 · answered by vorenhutz 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Many many billions. The most reliable guess would be 200-300 billions stars.
2007-07-31 12:06:26 · answer #8 · answered by christina J 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How many blades of grass are on planet earth?
Same as the amount of stars in the universe and I guess the grass in the US could be the same amount in comparison to one of the galaxies.
2007-07-31 11:05:20 · answer #9 · answered by Jewel 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Here is a picture of a galaxy, go count the stars.
http://www.galaxyphoto.com/high_res/hst_galaxy.JPG
2007-07-31 11:03:30 · answer #10 · answered by Gma Joan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋