The Milky Way galaxy is estimated to contain between 100 billion and 400 billion stars. This wide range reflects the difficulty astronomers face in counting stars, especially the faintest and smallest ones like red dwarfs, which are numerous but hard to detect from our vantage point within the galaxy
. More specifically:
- NASA estimates about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way
- Other sources, including the European Space Agency's Gaia mission data, suggest the number could be as high as 400 billion stars
- The Gaia mission has mapped around 1.7 billion stars near the Sun, but extrapolating to the whole galaxy is challenging due to observational limitations
In summary, the best current scientific consensus places the number of stars in the Milky Way roughly between 100 billion and 400 billion, with about 200 billion often cited as a typical estimate
