Look back atFigure 4. In the figure, you can see two dwarf elliptical galaxies that are
companions to the Andromeda Galaxy. One is a bright sphere to the left of center, and the
other is a long ellipse below and to the right of center. Dwarf galaxies are often found near
larger galaxies. They sometimes collide with and merge into their larger neighbors.
The Milky Way Galaxy
If you look up in the sky on a very clear night, you may see a milky band of light stretching
across the sky, as inFigure26.16. This band is called theMilky Way, and it consists of
millions of stars along with a lot of gas and dust. This band is the disk of a galaxy, the
Milky Way Galaxy, which is our galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy looks different to us
than other galaxies because we are actually living inside of it!
Figure 26.16: The band of light called the Milky Way can be seen on a clear, dark night.
Looking at this band, you are looking along the main disk of our galaxy. ( 19 )