HOW HEAVY IS THE MILKY WAY?

How heavy is the Milky Way galaxy in which we live? A new study has revealed that it has roughly 1.5 trillion times more mass than the sun. So there you go. The number they came up with was 3 followed by 42 zeroes. And that’s kilograms. Scientists were able to figure out the number by combining data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the European Space Agency’s Gaia space observatory. They measure the speed of globular clusters – dense groups of stars orbiting the Milky Way’s spiral disc. The more massive a galaxy, the faster its clusters move under the pull of its gravity.
* Roughly 1.5 trillion times more mass than the sun? This is science – I want exact numbers, dammit!
* No one likes a fat galaxy. Maybe it’s time we switched to 2% Milky Way.
* I’ve noticed that the galaxy has been putting on a little weight, especially around Uranus.
* Everybody puts on a few pounds over the winter.
* This is especially bad because swimsuit season is coming fast.
* Well, that was fun, scientists. Now stop screwing around and get back to work!