Why is the Milky Way called "Milky"?
The Milky Way is the name of a galaxy, our galaxy, and yes it is also the name of some chocolate bar.
But why of all posssible names is it called like that?
the story goes all the way back to the times of the ancient Greeks with their stories and legends.
The chief god in their pantheon was Zeus who had recently become the father of Heracles, a future Greek hero, but as Zeus was a god Heracles was only partially a god because he was also human. He was what we call a demigod.
Looking for a way to increase his divinity, Zeus took the baby and put him next to his wife, Hera, who had also recently given him another child (Hera was not Heracles's mother). The baby took the nipple and began suckling. Soon after that Hera woke up and in horror she noticed that the baby next to her was not hers but Heracles (she hated Heracles) and quickly got up away from the child who had not finished. The immortal milk left a trace which is what we see at a clear night as a somewhat white and irregular stripe in the sky.
And that is how it happened and the origin of the name...according to the ancient Greeks. Of course, these days we know that what we see is only one of the several immense arms of the spiral and small galaxy that is called the Milky Way.
But why of all posssible names is it called like that?
the story goes all the way back to the times of the ancient Greeks with their stories and legends.
The chief god in their pantheon was Zeus who had recently become the father of Heracles, a future Greek hero, but as Zeus was a god Heracles was only partially a god because he was also human. He was what we call a demigod.
Looking for a way to increase his divinity, Zeus took the baby and put him next to his wife, Hera, who had also recently given him another child (Hera was not Heracles's mother). The baby took the nipple and began suckling. Soon after that Hera woke up and in horror she noticed that the baby next to her was not hers but Heracles (she hated Heracles) and quickly got up away from the child who had not finished. The immortal milk left a trace which is what we see at a clear night as a somewhat white and irregular stripe in the sky.
And that is how it happened and the origin of the name...according to the ancient Greeks. Of course, these days we know that what we see is only one of the several immense arms of the spiral and small galaxy that is called the Milky Way.
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