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What is the circumference of the Milky Way?

Answer 1

The perimeter of an ellipse is to an approximation given by:

#2* pi sqrt( (a^2 +b^2)/2)# wher #a# and #b# are half the minor and major axis. .. See below.

With an estimated minor axis of 100,000 light years and a major axis of 175,000 light years, the Milky Way is thought to be an ellipitcal galaxy.

An ellipse's perimeter can be roughly calculated using the formula:

#2* pi sqrt( (a^2 +b^2)/2)# wher #a# and #b# are half the minor and major axis.

Enter the values and solve the problem.

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Answer 2

John Alexander

The Milky Way's approximate circumference is between 100,000 and 120,000 light-years.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.