Perseus Arm

Observed structure of the Milky Way's spiral arms. In this diagram, the Orion Arm is labelled "Local Spur".

The Perseus Arm is a major spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy.

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy with four major arms and at least two minor arms or spurs. The Perseus Spiral Arm, with a radius of approximately 10,700 parsecs, is located between the Cygnus Arm and the Sagittarius Arm. It is named after its proximity to the constellation Perseus.

There is speculation that the minor Orion Arm, which includes the solar system and Earth, is a branch of the Perseus Arm, but this is unconfirmed.

The Perseus Spiral arm contains a number of Messier objects:

• The Crab Nebula (M1)
• Open Cluster M36
• Open Cluster M37
• Open Cluster M38
• Open Cluster M52
• Open Cluster M103.

Other resources

See also

• List of Messier objects

External links

• Perseus Arm closer than previously thought
• Messier Objects in the Milky Way Galaxy (SEDS)