The Formation and Evolution of the Milky Way
By Cristina Chiappini
The distribution of the chemical elements in our galaxy serves as a "fossil record" of its evolutionary history
This Article From Issue
November-December 2001
Volume 89, Number 6
Page 506
DOI: 10.1511/2001.40.506
Our galaxy is a highly evolved entity. Not merely a random assortment of stars, like so many grains of sand on a beach, it is an elegant structure that shows both order and complexity. We know that the Milky Way is a spiral disk galaxy, similar to many others we see in the sky.
NGC 1232 image courtesy of the European Southern Observatory
American Scientist Comments and Discussion
To discuss our articles or comment on them, please share them and tag American Scientist on social media platforms. Here are links to our profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
If we re-share your post, we will moderate comments/discussion following our comments policy.