@holvek: The Solar System completes one full orbit around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, in a staggering period of 225 to 250 million years. In astronomy, this monumental cycle is known as a galactic or cosmic year. Throughout its entire history, which spans about 4.5 billion years, planet Earth has managed to orbit the galactic center only 18 to 20 times. To maintain this orbit, our system hurtles through space at an incredible speed of approximately 230 kilometers per second (about 514,000 mph). We do not travel in a perfect circle, but rather follow a wavy, undulating path, bobbing up and down relative to the plane of the galactic disk. Our Solar System is located roughly 26,000 to 28,000 light-years away from the galactic center, where a supermassive black hole resides. The scale of a cosmic year is best understood through history: exactly one orbit ago, the very first dinosaurs were just beginning to emerge, and Earth's landmasses were merged into the supercontinent Pangaea. The last time the Solar System was in the exact same spot in space where we are today, our planet was recovering from the most severe mass extinction in its history. #solarsystem #milkyway #physics #astro

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Monday 21 September 2026 09:30:50 GMT