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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?
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.
The Milky Way is estimated to be about 1,000 light-years thick at the Sun's location. However, this thickness can vary in different regions of the galaxy.
The Sun is located about 27,000 light-years away from the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
The distance from the Sun to the edge of the Milky Way is approximately 52,000 light-years.
The thickness and distance of the Milky Way are measured using various techniques such as parallax measurements, radio telescopes, and observations of Cepheid variable stars.
The Milky Way is considered to be a medium-sized galaxy, with a thickness and distance that is similar to other spiral galaxies. However, the exact measurements may vary depending on the specific galaxy being compared to.