Q. Why does the Milky Way appear as a discrete band of stars arching over the sky?
A. Because our galaxy is in the form of a disk. Looking along its diameter shows many of its components, while gazing at a right angle to the diameter one sees only a few stars through its thin height. Incidentally, the Milky Way contains about 100 billion stars. Astronomers estimate that the universe contains about 200 billion galaxies. Multiplying these two numbers is humbling, to say the least, and, for me, makes it highly unlikely that there aren’t a few other planets out there with the conditions (including the right temperature range and enough water) to foster life!
Contributed by Norman Sissman