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The Milky Way is a [[galaxy]] that is home to the [[Solar System]] and the [[Earth]].

The Milky Way is a [[galaxy]] that is home to the [[Solar System]] and the [[Earth]].  While it is difficult to determine the structure of our galaxy from our position within it, about 30,000 [[light-year|light-years]] from the center, astronomers believe it is a barred spiral approximately 100,000 light-years across, smaller than our neighboring [[Andromeda galaxy]] and with a less tightly-wrapped structure to the four spiral arms.  The Milky Way has two irregular "satellite" galaxies nearby called the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]] and the [[Small Magellanic Cloud]].  There are at least 200 billion stars estimated to lie in the Milky Way.