Thickness & Distance of Milky Way at Sun's Location

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    Milky way Thickness
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SUMMARY

The thickness of the Milky Way at the Sun's location is approximately 2000 light-years, representing the average thickness of the galaxy. The Sun is situated near the inner rim of the Orion Arm, within the Local Fluff of the Local Bubble, and is located about 8.33 ± 0.35 kiloparsecs (27,200 ± 1,100 light-years) from the Galactic Center. Additionally, the Sun is positioned 5–30 parsecs (16–98 light-years) from the central plane of the Galactic disk, although the exact vertical position relative to this plane remains unspecified.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of galactic structure and terminology
  • Familiarity with light-year and parsec measurements
  • Basic knowledge of the Milky Way's composition and arms
  • Awareness of the Local Bubble and Local Fluff concepts
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the specific thickness of the Milky Way at various locations within the galaxy
  • Explore the characteristics and significance of the Orion Arm
  • Investigate the Local Bubble and its impact on nearby stellar formations
  • Learn about galactic coordinates and their relevance to the Sun's position
USEFUL FOR

Astronomers, astrophysics students, and anyone interested in the structure and dimensions of the Milky Way galaxy.

lifeonmercury
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What is the thickness of the Milky Way at the sun's location, and how far is the sun toward the top/bottom?
 
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According to Wiki, the thickness of the disk is about 2000 ly.
 
From wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way#Sun.E2.80.99s_location_and_neighborhood
The Sun is near the inner rim of the Orion Arm, within the Local Fluff of the Local Bubble, and in the Gould Belt, at a distance of 8.33 ± 0.35 kiloparsecs (27,200 ± 1,100 ly) from the Galactic Center.[14][88][139] The Sun is currently 5–30 parsecs (16–98 ly) from the central plane of the Galactic disk.

I don't see a number given for the thickness of the milky way at our position, but I'm sure a google search will turn it up.
 
I saw that on Wikipedia too, but I assumed that the 2,000ly figure is the Milky Way's average thickness, and not the thickness of the galaxy at our specific location.

Thanks for the information about the sun being 16-98ly from the galactic plane. It doesn't specify above or below, however.

Unfortunately I couldn't find the thickness information using Google.
 

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