We asked Rory Bentley, astronomer at the University of California, Los Angeles, a few frequently asked questions about the Milky Way.Īstronomer and graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in high-mass stars and studies of the Milky Way's core. For example in China it is called 'Silver River' and in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa it's called the 'Backbone of Night'. In Greek mythology, this milky band appeared because the goddess Hera sprayed milk across the sky.Īround the world, the Milky Way is known by different names. Why is our galaxy called the Milky Way?Īccording to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), our galactic home is called the Milky Way after its apparent milky white appearance as it stretches across the night sky. In 2022, we imaged this glutton at the core of our galaxy for the very first time, through an innovative technique allowing us to view the shadow of the black hole.

About 4 million times the mass of the sun, this beast consumes anything that strays too close, gorging on an ample supply of stellar material enabling it to grow into a giant. Lying at the very heart of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*. Our window into the universe, this milky white band of stars, dust and gas is where our galaxy gets its name. On a clear night, void of light pollution, we can catch a glimpse of the bright lights of the galactic city streaking across the night sky.

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