G A L A C T I C   R I M

View toward the center of the Milky Way Galaxy; the distinction between the disk and the bulge is unmistakable, as is the apparent dissolution of structure into the random scatter of our local starfield: courtesy NASA & the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE).

Edge-on view of Galaxy NGC 4565, which closely resembles the COBE image of the Milky Way: courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech