The solar system is located in the Milky Way, a huge spiral galaxy containing billions of stars. They are grouped in “arms” that spiral outwards. All of the stars are travelling around a point at the centre. The Milky Way does not sit still, but is constantly rotating. As such, the arms are moving through space. The sun and the solar system travel with them. The solar system travels at an average speed of 515,000 mph (828,000 km/h). Even at this rapid speed, the solar system would take about 230 million years to travel all the way around the Milky Way. Scientists think there is a super massive black hole located there that sucks in anything that gets too close to it.
The Night sky: The Milky Way used to be visible on every clear, moonless night, everywhere in the world. Today, however, most people live in places where it’s impossible to see the Milky Way because of widespread light pollution caused by lights left on all night long. Seeing the Milky Way requires a special effort for most people, but its well worth the trouble.
To see the Milky Way, you’ll need to travel far from any city, to a wilderness area. Even in rural farming country, there are still a lot of bright lighting fixtures that wipe out the night sky.
Black hole: Tucked inside the very center of the galaxy is a monstrous black hole, billions of times as massive as the sun. This supermassive black hole may have started off smaller, but the ample supply of dust and gas allowed it to gorge itself and grow into a giant. The greedy glutton also consumes whatever stars it can get a grip on. Although black holes cannot be directly viewed, scientists can see their gravitational effects as they change and distort the paths of the material around it, or as they fire off jets. Most galaxies are thought to have a black hole in their heart.
Picture Credit : Google