The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. Radius: 52,850 light years Age: 13.51 billion years Escape velocity: 550 km/s Absolute magnitude: -21 Number of stars: 100–400 billion Constellations: Orion, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Carina, Ara