From one end to the other, our galaxy measures a staggering 600,000 trillion miles.

It takes light 100,000 years to cross our galaxy.

This is a big galaxy, and it's quite amazing, if you think about it, that we understand as much as we do about this system.

Our sun and the solar system are located here — in a quiet neighborhood nestled between two spiral arms.

This is the galactic home address that we know so well.

But our surrounding neighborhoods are wildly different.

Like any large city, there are dynamic industrial zones where heat and pressure forge new stars and others die in violent explosions.

Downtown, in the very heart of the galaxy, stars jostle for space, pulled by mysterious forces.

Our galaxy also has quaint, historic neighborhoods that tell the story of how our star city was founded.

Now, we head to one of the most spectacular locations in the Milky Way — a place that holds the clue to how the 200 billion stars of the galaxy were first created — and it's just around the corner.