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Solar System

    The Sun is about 30,000 lightyears from the center of the Milky Way and orbits around that center in about 200 million years, with an average speed of about 230 km/s or 800,000 km/h.

    The Sun has completed about 23 of those orbits so far. Our Milky Way is a spiral galaxy with a diameter of about 100,000 lightyears and seems to contain at least four spiral arms.

    The Sun lies between the Sagittarius-Carina arm and the Perseus arm. Interestingly enough, the Milky Way also moves relative to the center of gravity of the Local Group of galaxies at a speed of about 40 km/s (144,000 km/h).

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