<p>Suppose 2 spaceships leave from the earth's north and South Pole going straight up which one will exit the galaxy first (assume they have the same speed and are going in a totally straight line) ? Edge of the galaxy means absence of stars, this question refers to the up-down edge of this spiral galaxy.
The question is about the current distance from the earths poles to the edge (top/down) not to the galactic plane, as far as I understand after crossing the plane the nearest pole to the edge will be reversed.</p>

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2019-03-25T17:31:43.333Z
Given the kind of distances involved, you can treat the Earth as a mathematical point without any loss of accuracy in the answer.  Now, do you want "edges" in the spiral plane, or perpendicular to that?
Carl Witthoft
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2019-03-25T23:47:35.180Z
You might like to [edit] your question to be a bit more precise. How do you define “edge”? Are you including the dark matter halo? Are you ignoring gravitational effects (both boosts and “drag”)? Ie is this about simple straight-line distance, or plotting an escape arc?
Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
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2019-03-26T08:08:52.637Z
Edited to show the question requires a simple straight line, and edge means perpendicular
user426132
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2019-03-26T08:24:57.820Z
and our solar system is at a large angle to the ecliptic plane (https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/orientation-of-the-earth-sun-and-solar-system-in-the-milky-way.888643/) so to get to the edge, you don't want to exit via the pole but at ~27deg from the equator.
Hobbes
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2019-03-26T08:30:31.357Z
take into consideration the angle... the exit is from the pole
user426132
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2019-03-26T09:59:58.180Z
exiting from the pole gives a much longer trajectory than exiting perpendicular to the galactic plane.
Hobbes
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2019-03-26T10:57:00.170Z
yes it does... and I am interested in this situation which line would be longer.. from the south or from the north pole
user426132
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-26T19:58:16.340Z
@hobbes - but since the North and South poles are perpendicular, the angle relative to the galaxy does not affect which one "wins the race"
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-27T10:01:03.693Z
In case it's not clear from the answers on the question linked by Hobbes, we are currently  "north" of the galactic plane.
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-28T07:43:40.197Z
60° from south to north by system planetary to the galaxy plane,  and 23° south to north by earth in the planetary system, obvious south pole, but real question which direction sun has?
Adrian R
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-29T13:06:05.877Z
what does "north" of the galactic plane mean? We are above the galactic plane and the earth's north pole is pointing away from it?
user426132
<galaxy><milky-way>
What pole is closer to the galactic edge?
user426132
# What pole is closer to the galactic edge?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-03-25)

Suppose 2 spaceships leave from the earth's north and South Pole going straight up which one will exit the galaxy first (assume they have the same speed and are going in a totally straight line) ? Edge of the galaxy means absence of stars, this question refers to the up-down edge of this spiral galaxy.
The question is about the current distance from the earths poles to the edge (top/down) not to the galactic plane, as far as I understand after crossing the plane the nearest pole to the edge will be reversed.

**Tags:** galaxy, milky-way

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Given the kind of distances involved, you can treat the Earth as a mathematical point without any loss of accuracy in the answer.  Now, do you want "edges" in the spiral plane, or perpendicular to that?  
> **username_2**: You might like to [edit] your question to be a bit more precise. How do you define “edge”? Are you including the dark matter halo? Are you ignoring gravitational effects (both boosts and “drag”)? Ie is this about simple straight-line distance, or plotting an escape arc?  
> **username_0**: Edited to show the question requires a simple straight line, and edge means perpendicular  
> **username_3**: and our solar system is at a large angle to the ecliptic plane (https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/orientation-of-the-earth-sun-and-solar-system-in-the-milky-way.888643/) so to get to the edge, you don't want to exit via the pole but at ~27deg from the equator.  
> **username_0**: take into consideration the angle... the exit is from the pole  
> **username_3**: exiting from the pole gives a much longer trajectory than exiting perpendicular to the galactic plane.  
> **username_0**: yes it does... and I am interested in this situation which line would be longer.. from the south or from the north pole  
> **username_1**: @username_3 - but since the North and South poles are perpendicular, the angle relative to the galaxy does not affect which one "wins the race"  
> **username_4**: In case it's not clear from the answers on the question linked by username_3, we are currently  "north" of the galactic plane.  
> **username_5**: 60° from south to north by system planetary to the galaxy plane,  and 23° south to north by earth in the planetary system, obvious south pole, but real question which direction sun has?  
> **username_0**: what does "north" of the galactic plane mean? We are above the galactic plane and the earth's north pole is pointing away from it?  

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## 0 answers

