In the Universe, all “living” cosmic bodies rotate. There are two main types of revolutions: around the axis and around the center of something more massive and influential. How are things with the Sun?
Galaxy Center
Our galaxy in diametric coverage reaches about 100 000 - 200 000 light years. There are 200-400 billion different stars on its territory, the main mass of which is based closer to the galactic center.
What is the central core of a spiral galaxy? You need to fly from the Sun to the center for 27700 light years, and you will meet with a creepy monster. Before you supermassive black hole Sagittarius A *. Terribly attractive formation covers 4.3 million solar mass.
Solar System Movement
Structure of the Milky Way: top view
All the planets and objects of the system revolve around the sun. It is not surprising that the Sun also rotates around the center of the galaxy. Our system is closer to the disk edge, not the core (maybe it is better). More specifically, we need to look for on the edge of the Orion sleeve. The whole system moves at a speed of 220-240 km / s (in some sources - 254 km / s). How much time does it take to complete a revolution around the galactic center? About 250 million years! This figure is an indicator of the galactic year. It turns out that for all the time of its existence, the Earth together with the system has completed only 30 revolutions.
Good location of the Sun
Milky Way Structure: Side View
In fact, our star is very lucky, because she lives in the corotation circle. This is the only location in the galaxy, where the speed indicators of spiral arms and stars converge. Who cares? Well, earthlings!
The bottom line is that spiral arms are an ideal place for various active and dangerous processes. As a result, a huge amount of powerful rays are being formed that destroy all life. In such a case, even the densest atmospheric layer could not act as a defense. So you can rejoice, because our planet was in a relatively calm territory. Maybe this is the secret of the birth and development of life? We just did not bother!
A bit about numbers
All of us now continue to rush through the space around the galactic center. Although our planet made 30 turns, but the share of humanity has not yet been not a single. If we take the most ancient representative of humanity, then the countdown of its existence begins only from a million years ago.
And how many then the universe in the galactic years? The first traces of life arose 15 galactic years ago, and the oceans - 17-18 galactic years ago. We wind off a little earlier and find ourselves at around 18.4 galactic years ago, when the Sun was born. The Milky Way originated 54 galactic years ago, and the Big Bang - 61.
Postscript
What about modern people? Well, you and I are still incredibly young, because it happened only 0 .001 galactic a year ago. We will never be able to complete this revolution around the galaxy, but in the Universe one can find many more phenomena and objects that compensate for this loss.
