As attractive as it may seem to explore what lies in the confines of the universe, a better idea would be to get to know what is closest to home. Well, “close” in space terms is still several lightyears away, but you understand what we mean. There are plenty of exciting phenomena to study right in our metaphorical backyard. It’s got countless other solar systems and even its own black hole! See? The Milky Way has everything to keep the most curious of astronomers engaged! It also has something pretty unique: a planet capable of sustaining life.
One galaxy or multiple?
A lot of what we know about space was discovered pretty recently. Humanity learned more about the stars and planets closest to us during the 20th century, and even as recently as the 1920s, people were still debating some pretty basic stuff.
For example, there was a “great debate” in 1920 about whether the stars we could see in the sky all belonged to the Milky Way. It was settled after Edwin Hubble proved with his calculations that Andromeda, our nearest galactic neighbor, was far outside our galaxy.
