Question

Which of the following correctly describes the size of the Milky Way galaxy?


The Milky Way galaxy is the largest known galaxy.

The Milky Way galaxy is smaller than most galaxies.

The Milky Way galaxy is the smallest known galaxy.

The Milky Way galaxy is larger than most galaxies.

Answer 1

"The Milky Way is 5.8×1011 solar masses (M☉), somewhat smaller than the Andromeda Galaxy."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way
This rules out choice A.

"Using the Hubble Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers led by Anil Seth of the University of Utah discovered that M60-UCD1 has a supermassive black hole, making it the smallest galaxy ever discovered to have one."
http://www.iflscience.com/space/astronomers-find-smallest-galaxy-supermassive-black-hole
This rules out choice C.

"It's not huge, but it's almost certainly larger than "most" in the sense that it's above average."
http://www.answers.com/Q/Is_the_Milky_Way_galaxy_the_larger_than_most_galaxies
This answer suggests that it is D.

Answer 2

The Milky Way galaxy is larger than most galaxies.