The Solar System orbits the galaxy at 828,000 km/h. Since you were born, where are we now?
The Solar System doesn't sit still. It orbits the center of the Milky Way galaxy at about 230 kilometers per second — roughly 828,000 km/h. One full orbit takes about 225 million Earth years. That's called a galactic year.
Since you were born, you've traveled sideways through the galaxy without leaving your chair. For a 30-year-old, that's about 196 billion kilometers — about 1.3 AU, or 1.3 times the distance from Earth to the Sun. The Sun has also been moving relative to nearby stars, and the Milky Way itself is falling toward the Andromeda Galaxy at 110 km/s.
ESA's Gaia mission is currently mapping the positions and motions of 1.8 billion stars in the Milky Way. It's giving us the most precise 3D map of our galaxy ever created — and confirming just how fast we're all moving.
Stand up. Jump up and down. You might feel stationary — but you're not. You're spinning on Earth's surface at about 1,670 km/h at the equator. Earth is orbiting the Sun at 107,000 km/h. The Sun is orbiting the center of the Milky Way at 828,000 km/h. The Milky Way itself is falling toward the Andromeda galaxy at about 110 km/s.
Since you were born, you've traveled an absurd distance through space. Not just around the Sun, but around the galaxy. In 30 years, the Solar System has moved about 22,000 light-years along its galactic orbit — about a quarter of the way around the Milky Way.
The wild part: there's no such thing as "stationary" in space. Everything is moving relative to everything else. You can only say you're moving compared to something else. Right now, you're hurtling through space at nearly 1 million km/h, and you don't feel a thing. That's what atmosphere and gravity do — they lock you into the ride.
The Solar System orbits the galactic center at ~828,000 km/h. One galactic orbit takes ~225 million years.
No. Life on Earth began ~4 billion years ago — about 18 galactic orbits ago. We're on our 19th lap.
Your age is a measure of Earth's orbits. On Mercury, you'd be 4 times older. On Neptune, you'd be a toddler.
Three motions add up: Earth spins at 1,670 km/h, orbits the Sun at 107,000 km/h, and the Sun orbits the galaxy at 828,000 km/h. Your total speed through space is about 900,000 km/h, depending on direction.
Yes. The Milky Way and Andromeda are falling toward each other at about 110 km/s. They'll collide in about 4.5 billion years. Also, the entire Local Group of galaxies is moving toward the Virgo Cluster at about 600 km/s. Everything is moving. Nothing is still.
No. We feel acceleration, not constant velocity. Since Earth's speed through space is roughly constant, we don't perceive it — the same way you don't feel a train moving smoothly at 300 km/h. Only bumps and turns are felt.