Galaxy

Galaxy (Gr. gala, 'milk'), or the Milky-way, is the great luminous band which nightly stretches across the heavens from horizon to horizon, and which is found to form a zone very irregular in outline, but completely encircling the whole sphere almost in a great circle, inclined at an angle of $63^\{\backslash circ\}$ to the equinoctial. At one part of its course it opens up into two branches, one faint and interrupted, the other bright and continuous, which do not reunite till after remaining distinct for about $150^\{\backslash circ\}$. Its luminosity is due to innumerable multitudes of stars, so distant as to be blended in appearance, and only distinguishable by powerful telescopes. How a collection of stars can assume such appearances as are presented in the Galaxy is explained in the article STARS (q.v.). The investigation of this subject was largely the work of Sir William Herschel. The origin of the current figurative use of galaxy, as in 'galaxy of beauty,' 'galaxy of wit,' is sufficiently obvious.