Milky Way Galaxy

The Milky Way, as it is known to human astronomers, is a barred spiral galaxy with a 110,000 light-year diameter. It is the second-largest galaxy in the Local Group by size, and host to roughly 400 billion stars. At 2.50 billion light-years distance between it and the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way's nearest non-satellite neighbour, the Milky Way is considered the "Hermit Galaxy" of the Local Group by a variety of its civilisations.

Politically, the Milky Way is the least united of the major galaxies of the Local Group, though it nonetheless has given rise to galactic superpowers. At its forefront is the Ankoran Covenant, considered the most powerful civilisation in the Milky Way as of 2950.