View source for Milky Way

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Wikipedia}}
[[File:Milky Way 2.jpg|thumb|300px|The Milky Way as seen from [[Installation 00|the Ark]].]]
The '''Milky Way''', known as '''Path Tolgreth''' to the [[Forerunner]]s,{{Ref/Novel|PoL|Chapter=24}} is a [[wikipedia:Barred spiral galaxy|barred spiral galaxy]].{{Ref/Reuse|YTAccurate}}{{Ref|See the [[#Production notes|production notes]] section}} 

It is the galaxy where [[human]]ity and the former [[Covenant]] client species reside,{{Ref/Novel|CH|Page=26}} “The Covenant, as an empire, dominated much of the galaxy, though they would generally leave a world untouched unless it offered particular treasures, whether practical or religious”. The UNSC, however, is largely limited to the [[Orion Arm]] of the Milky Way.{{Ref/Book|HWF|Page=12-13}} The galaxy is also home to a number of other intelligent species, although only a small number of these have attained spacefaring or even technological status.{{Ref/Site|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-bulkhead-banter|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Bulkhead Banter}} In total, the galaxy was home to quadrillions.{{Ref/Novel|DW|Chapter=1}}

==Overview==
[[File:HWF - Full Galaxy map.jpg|thumb|A map of the Milky Way galaxy.{{Ref/Book|HWF}}]]
From outside, the Milky Way is a vaguely disk shaped galaxy with a bright center.{{Ref/Reuse|H3A}} From inside however, the galaxy appears to be a clouded, bulbous band.{{Ref/Map|H3|Orbital}}

It is orbited by two small satellite galaxies known as the [[Magellanic Clouds]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=clouds|Cry|Page=268}}

===Locations===
*[[Sagittarius Arm]]
**[[Ephsu system]]
*[[Kerrec Irruption]]
*[[IX-KA anomaly]]
*[[Rhotero]]
*[[Invicta]]
*[[Jad Sappar]]
*[[Greater Tiger]]
*[[Seclusion]]
*[[Norma Arm]]
**[[Coelest system]]
*[[Orion Arm]]
**[[Human colonies]] {{C|[[Prehistoric human civilization#Sphere of influence|prehistoric humans]]}}
**[[Covenant#Known Covenant worlds|Covenant systems and worlds]]
***[[Sangheili colonies]]
**[[Ecumene#Known regions, systems and worlds|Forerunner systems and worlds]]
*[[Scutum-Centaurus Arm]]
**[[Khaphrae system]]
*[[Cygnus Arm]]
**[[Korinth Prior system]]

==History==
===Prehistory===
100,000 years before the present day, the previous galactic community was dominated by the [[Forerunner]]s, a now [[extinction|extinct]] species that possessed extremely advanced technology and [[Ecumene|an empire]] that spanned a significant portion of the galaxy. Millions of years before the rise of the Forerunners, an even more advanced civilization known as the [[Precursor]]s controlled the Milky Way. Having reached the pinnacle of [[Technological Achievement Tiers|technological advancement]], they were believed to have significantly contributed to the evolution of life across the galaxy, even created several species, such as Forerunners and humans. Over ten million years before the present, however, the Forerunners [[Forerunner-Precursor war|rose up against]] their creators in defiance of their decision to bestow their [[Mantle]] on humanity,{{Ref/Novel|Pri}} and seemingly ended their rule in the galaxy after destroying their last remnants in the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]].{{Ref/Novel|Sil|Page=181-182}}

The Forerunners, originating from [[Ghibalb]] in the [[Orion complex]], ruled a large portion of the galaxy for millions of years, affecting the development of other species as they saw fit. Around [[150,000 BCE]], [[human]]ity, still composed of many species, arose from their homeworld Earth, known as "Erde-Tyrene" at the time. They mastered interstellar travel and began to move [[Prehistoric human civilization|their civilization]] along the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. They later [[Human-San'Shyuum alliance|allied]] with the [[San'Shyuum]] species, forming a prosperous interstellar empire based on the [[planet]] [[Charum Hakkor]]. Around [[107,445 BCE]], humanity and their San'Shyuum allies came into contact with the Flood, a sentient parasite supposedly originating from the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]].{{Ref/Reuse|clouds}} Hundreds of systems were lost to the parasite in the [[Plague War|resulting conflict]]. Meanwhile, humanity's aggressive expansion and the perceived violations of the [[Mantle]] prompted the Forerunners to take action and begin [[Plague War|a war]] against humanity. Although the Flood later withdrew and seemingly died out from the galaxy, it had already weakened the humans enough to allow the Forerunners to emerge victorious.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Cry|Cry}}

Following the war in approximately [[106,445 BCE]], the Forerunners dismantled humanity's civilization, regressing them into a [[Technological Achievement Tiers|Tier 7 species]]. The remaining humans were devolved and exiled to their homeworld, where they slowly began to redevelop [[Erde-Tyrene civilization|a primitive civilization]] under the tutelage of the Forerunner [[Lifeshaper]], the [[Librarian]].{{Ref/Reuse|Cry}}

===Activation of the Halo Array===
{{Main|Forerunner-Flood war}}

10,000 years after humanity's conflict with the Flood, the parasite resurfaced and attacked worlds of the Forerunners' domain. Encounters with the Flood led to the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], with the Flood consuming or killing the great majority of the galaxy's sentient species as the Forerunners first studied them, and then tried to stop them. Eventually, the Forerunners were forced to activate the ultimate weapon, the [[Halo Array]], in order to stop them - at the same time, killing its builders. The Forerunners built safe havens, including the [[Shield World]]s and [[Installation 00|the Ark]], to save the remaining sentient species in plan known as the [[Conservation Measure]], before [[Great Purification|activating the Array]], scouring the galaxy of all sentient life forms and killing the Flood except for samples kept on the Halos, then [[reintroduction|releasing]] the saved species from their havens to their home worlds.

===Galactic recovery===
{{Main|Dark time}}
Almost 100,000 years afterward, the galaxy had recovered substantially, leading to the rise of two great civilizations; the [[UNSC]], comprised of the majority of humanity and controlled from [[Earth]], and the [[Covenant]], a hegemony of many different species who worshiped the Forerunners as gods. Contact between the UNSC and Covenant was not peaceful, leading to the [[Human-Covenant War]], which destroyed hundreds of human colonies and killed billions of colonists and UNSC military personnel, since the Covenant possessed more advanced technology, mostly reverse-engineered from Forerunner artifacts.

The discovery of one of the Forerunners Halo installations set forth a series of events that would not only end the war, but also destroy the Covenant and begin a Covenant civil war, or [[Great Schism]]. Triggered by the replacement of the [[Sangheili]] with the [[Jiralhanae]] in the Covenant military hierarchy, the Sangheili left the Covenant, in the process that consumed a significant amount of the Covenant's populace and resources. A [[Fleet of Retribution|major breakaway faction]] led by [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]], realizing that the [[Prophets]] were conducting an unjustified war against humanity and planning a misguided activation of the [[Halo Array]], allied with the UNSC to stop them, leading to the destruction of the Covenant in the [[Battle of Installation 00]].

===Post-war===
[[File:H5G-Lasky&Roland.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Roland]] and [[Thomas Lasky|Lasky]] examining the takeover of multiple systems by the [[Created]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GG}}]]
Following the end of the Human-Covenant War, humanity began a long process of rebuilding, while elements within the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] sought to ensure their former enemies - mainly the Sangheili - would not rise again. Meanwhile, humanity gained significant advances in technology due to the discovery of Forerunner artifacts during and after the war.

Though the civilization of the Sangheili had plunged into chaos due to the [[Covenant remnants|breaking of the Covenant]],{{Ref/Novel|Gla}} the conflict between them and the Jiralhanae would still rage by [[2559]]. Humanity, as well, would continue to face conflict both within and without, in the form of resurgent [[Insurrectionist]] movements as well as various hostile [[Covenant remnants]]. [[Post-Covenant War conflicts|These irregular conflicts]] later saw significant Forerunner involvement, both in terms of contention for Forerunner artifacts but also the reawakening of the Forerunner commander known as the [[Ur-Didact]] and his [[Promethean]] armies on [[Requiem]].

Months after the Didact's release, [[Cortana]], a human [[artificial intelligence]] who played a key role in the waning years of the Human-Covenant War, staged an AI [[Created|rebellion]] against the galaxy's organic species using a legion of Promethean warriors and a caste of Forerunner constructs known as [[Guardian Custode]]s. Using the latter, Cortana disabled most contemporary technologies across hundreds of colonies across the [[Orion Arm]], both human and alien, bringing the species under her aegis on pain of death.{{Ref/Level|Id=H5GG|H5G|H5G:Guardians|Guardians}}

==Exploration==
===UNSC===
{{Main|Human colonies}}
The development of the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] in [[2291]] allowed humanity to leave the confines of its home star system for the first time and explore Earth's interstellar neighborhood, ushering in an age of rapid colonization and expansion. The first line of colony ships were unveiled in [[2310]], and over the next 28 years, the UNSC began [[terraforming]] and colonizing more than 210 worlds, which would become the [[Inner Colonies]]. Colonial expansion continued and by [[2490]], UNSC colonial space encompassed over 800 worlds, large and small, in the [[Orion Arm]]. The success of colonization of the [[Outer Colonies]] made the Inner Colonies the primary stronghold, both military and economic, though they relied heavily on raw materials supplied by the Outer Colonies. At the end of the [[Domus Diaspora|Golden Age of human expansion]] in the twilight of the 25th century, tensions between the Inner and Outer colonies culminated in hundreds of civil wars waged across the Outer Colonies, collectively termed as the [[Insurrection]].

In [[2525]], humanity made contact with the genocidal alien hegemony known as the [[Covenant]], bent on humanity's destruction. During the 27 years of conflict, hundreds of human colonies were destroyed and billions of civilians and military personnel were killed by the Covenant.

===Covenant===
{{Main|Covenant|Sangheili colonies}}
[[File:H5G - Milky Way.png|thumb|left|250px|A Covenant hologram of the Milky Way aboard ''[[Undiminished Entelechy]]''.]]
Because the Covenant have been spacefaring for over three millennia,{{Ref/Book|Enc09|Page=30}} and possess far superior [[astrogation|slipstream navigation]] technology to humanity, they have explored a significantly larger portion of the galaxy than humanity has. Encompassing thousands of systems, the Covenant Empire was so expansive and complex that entire worlds and sub-domains could disappear from records for decades before contact resumed.{{Ref/Book|HWF|Page=52}} The Covenant dominated much of the galaxy but would leave a world untouched unless it had religious or practical importance.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/factions/covenant|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Covenant|D=25|M=01|Y=2016}} The Covenant have discovered and explored several Forerunner [[shield world]]s as well as other Forerunner artifacts, from which they have acquired much of their advanced technology.

The [[Human-Covenant War]] has devastated numerous human worlds, but at least two Covenant worlds, [[Joyous Exultation]] and [[Glyke]], were devastated by UNSC [[NOVA bomb]]s. Earlier on, both [[Taming of the Hunters|Te]] and [[Unggoy Rebellion|Balaho]], the Lekgolo and Unggoy homeworlds respectively, were almost [[glassing|glassed]] during the [[Covenant]]'s history.
{{Clear}}

===Forerunner===
{{Main|Forerunner}}
The Forerunners, having been spacefaring for millions of years and possessing slipspace technology allowing them to cross galactic distances in a negligible time, had explored significant portions of the galaxy. Their [[ecumene]] encompassed three million fertile worlds,{{Ref/Novel|Cry|Page=9}} along with many artificial installations they had constructed. The Forerunners divided the galaxy into [[margin arc]]s and [[thema]]s, with the latter being defined by galactic-scale magnetic fields.{{Ref/Novel|Sil|Page=234-235}} They were also capable of traveling [[intergalactic space|outside the galaxy]], including an expedition to the [[Path Kethona|Large Magellanic Cloud]] and the construction of the [[Ark]]s hundreds of thousands of lightyears from the galaxy.{{Ref/Level|Id=H3A|H3|H3:The Ark|The Ark}}

==Production notes==
[[File:RW_SpitzerMilkyWay.jpg|thumb|The real-world NASA image from which the ''Halo 3'' Milky Way texture was based upon.{{Ref/Site|URL=http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/mediaimages/sig/sig05-010.shtml|Site=NASA|Page=Milky Way Bar|D=19|M=7|Y=2006}}]]
The Milky Way as seen in ''Halo 3'' and the cover art for ''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'' is depicted as a [[Wikipedia:Barred_spiral_galaxy|barred spiral galaxy]]. This is an accurate depiction of the Milky Way, with the knowledge available to [[Bungie]] during the game's development. To create the texture used to represent the Milky Way, Bungie used the then-latest data available; an artist's impression of the Milky Way produced by NASA in [[2005 (real world)|2005]] based on observations from the [[Wikipedia:Spitzer Space Telescope|Spitzer Space Telescope]].{{Ref/YouTube|Id=YTAccurate|ikSUgaG_zIA|Dr. Ryan Ridden|Is the Galaxy in Halo 3 Scientifically Accurate?|D=02|M=3|Y=2021}}{{Ref/Twitter|RyanRidden|1336005452048592909|Ryan Ridden|Quote=Hey @game_fabricator was the Milky Way we see in Halo 3 based on the NASA illustration for the Spitzer discovery of the Milky Way Bar?|D=02|M=3|Y=2021}}{{Ref/Twitter|game_fabricator|1336018120188678145|Marcus Lehto|Quote=Yes it was!|D=02|M=3|Y=2021}}

==Trivia==
{{Linkbox|gallery=yes|gallerypage=Images of the Milky Way}}
*There are four engagements or conflicts known to have taken place outside the Milky Way in modern times. They are the [[Battle of Installation 00]], [[Operation: FAR STORM]], [[Attack on Installation 00]] and [[Second Ark Conflict]]. Two other cases of extragalactic conflict are known to have occurred in the distant past; the [[Battle of the greater Ark]] in the final days of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]] and the later stages of the [[Forerunner-Precursor war]] over ten million years earlier.
*The view of the Milky Way, as seen from the Ark in ''[[Halo 3]]'' and other "modern" ''Halo'' media, is a view of the galaxy as it existed 262,144 years ago - prior to the [[Great Purification|firing]] of the [[Halo Array]] and many of the events of the [[Distant past|later Forerunner era]].
*The Covenant’s Milky Way hologram on the Halo 5 multiplayer map [[Truth]] was created using a real-world image of the [[Wikipedia:Whirlpool Galaxy|Whirlpool galaxy]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Galaxy map.jpg|The Milky Way as seen on [[Halo2.com]].
File:H3_Orbital_Galaxy.jpg|A view of the galaxy, as seen on the ''[[Halo 3]]'' map [[Orbital]].
File:Hunters_in_the_Dark_full_cover.jpg|The Milky Way as viewed on the cover art for ''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''. Befitting of the novel's setting of the Ark, the cover reuses the ''Halo 3'' Milky Way texture to depict the galaxy.
File:HWF - Galaxy map combined.jpg|A high-resolution copy of the ''Halo: Warfleet'' Milky Way artwork, not including the bottom portion.
File:H5G_Truth_Milky_Way_Galaxy.png|The image of the galaxy as seen from the Covenant hologram on the multiplayer map [[Truth]].
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]] {{1st}}
**''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach#2010 bonus content|Adjunct]]''
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]''
**''[[Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct]]''
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]''
**''[[Halo: First Strike#2010 bonus content|Adjunct]]''
**''[[Petra]]''
**''[[Tug o' War]]''
*''[[i love bees]]''
*''[[Halo 2]]''
**''[[Conversations from the Universe]]''
*''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''
**''[[Armor Testing]]''
**''[[Breaking Quarantine]]''
**''[[Halo Graphic Novel, Page 122|Page 122]]''
**''[[Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa]]''
**''[[The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor]]''
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''
*''[[Starry Night]]''
*''[[Iris]]''
**''[[Halo 3: The Cradle of Life]]''
*''[[Believe]]'' 
**''[[Believe: The John 117 Monument]]'' 
**''[[Diorama]]'' 
**''[[Enemy Weapon]]'' 
**''[[Gravesite]]'' 
**''[[Hunted]]'' 
**''[[Museum]]'' 
*''[[Halo: Landfall]]''
**''[[Halo: Arms Race]]''
**''[[Halo: Combat]]''
**''[[Halo: Last One Standing]]''
*''[[Halo: Uprising]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
**''[[Bestiarum]]''
**''[[H3:Terminals|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''
*''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]''
*''[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]''
*''[[Halo Wars]]''
*''[[Halo: Helljumper]]''
*''[[The Life]]''
*''[[Halo 3: ODST Pre-mission Evaluation]]''
*''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''
**''[[Sadie's Story]]''
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
**''[[Homecoming]]''
**''[[Odd One Out]]'' {{C|Non-canonical appearance}}
**''[[Origins]]''
**''[[Prototype]]''
**''[[The Babysitter]]''
**''[[The Duel]]''
**''[[The Package (animated short)|The Package]]''
*''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''
**''[[Blunt Instruments]]''
**''[[Dirt]]''
**''[[From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal]]''
**''[[Headhunters (short story)|Headhunters]]''
**''[[Human Weakness]]''
**''[[Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian]]
**''[[Palace Hotel]]''
**''[[Pariah]]''
**''[[Soma the Painter]]''
**''[[Stomping on the Heels of a Fuss]]''
**''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]''
**''[[The Mona Lisa]]''
**''[[The Return]]''
**''[[Wages of Sin]]''
{{col-2}}
*''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''
*''[[Remember Reach]]''
**''[[Birth of a Spartan]]''
**''[[Patrol]]''
**''[[Spaceport (Remember Reach)|Spaceport]]
**''[[New Life]]''
**''[[Deliver Hope]]''
*''[[Halo: Reach]]''
**''[[Data pads]]''
**''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''
*''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant|Covenant]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Invasion|Invasion]]''
*''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''
*''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''
*''[[Halo Living Monument]]''
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
**''[[CEA:Terminals|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[The Commissioning]]''
*''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]''
*''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]''
*''[[Section 3 ARG]]''
*''[[Scanned]]'' {{C|Partial Non-canonical appearance}}
*''[[Halo 4]]''
**''[[H4:Terminals|Terminals]]''
**''[[Spartan Ops]]''
**''[[Infinity Briefing Packet]]''
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]''
*''[[Rebirth]]''
*''[[Halo: Spartan Assault]]''
*''[[Halo: Initiation]]''
*''[[Halo: Escalation]]''
*''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]''
*''[[Halo: Broken Circle]]''
*''[[Halo: Nightfall]]''
*''[[Halo 2 Anniversary]]''
**''[[Terminal_(Halo_2:_Anniversary)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: New Blood]]''
**''[[Halo: New Blood#2016 bonus content|Coda]]''
*''[[Hunt the Truth]]''
**''[[All Hail]]''
**''[[The Cost]]''
**''[[Hunt the Signal]]''
**''[[A Hero Falls]]''
**''[[The Hunt Begins]]''
*''[[Halo: Spartan Strike]]''
*''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]''
*''[[Halo: Fleet Battles]]''
*''[[Halo: Saint's Testimony]]''
*''[[Halo: Last Light]]''
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]]''
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''
**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition dossiers|Limited Edition dossiers]]''
*''[[Halo: Shadow of Intent]]''
*''[[Halo Wars 2]]''
*''[[Halo: Tales from Slipspace]]''
*''[[Halo Infinite]]''
*''[[Halo: The Television Series]]''
*''[[Halo: Edge of Dawn]]''
*''[[Halo: Campaign Evolved]]''
*''[[Halo: Parasite's Wake]]''
{{col-end}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

[[Category:Galaxies]]