Milky Way: Difference between revisions

{{Era|Forerunner|Covenant|Human|UNSC|HCW|Post}}

The '''Milky Way''' 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|[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]|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 name="Warfleet">''[[Halo: Warfleet]]'', p. 12-13</ref>

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|Id=bulkhead banter|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-bulkhead-banter|SiteName=Halo Waypoint|PageName=Canon Fodder - Bulkhead Banter}}

[[File:HWF - Galaxy map combined.jpg|thumb|A map of the Milky Way galaxy.{{Ref/Book|Halo: Warfleet – An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo}}]]

 

The Orion Arm is a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Both the [[Human colonies|human sphere]] and the former [[Covenant Empire]] lie within the Orion Arm.<ref name="Warfleet"/> The [[Forerunner]] homeworld [[Ghibalb]], as well as the [[Orion complex]] which housed the galaxy-spanning Forerunner [[ecumene]]'s core worlds, are also located in this spiral arm, as well as the contemporary empires of other species, including [[prehistoric human civilization|humanity]] and the [[San'Shyuum]]. The Orion Arm was the setting for the [[Human-Covenant War]] of the 26th Century and the ancient [[Forerunner-Flood war]]. It is home to two of the Forerunners' [[Halo Array|Halo installations]], [[Installation 01|01]] and [[Installation 04|04]],<ref name="Warfleet"/> and two slipspace portals to [[Installation 00|the Ark]] on [[Earth]] and [[Reach]] respectively.

 

*[[Human colonies#List of known colonies|Human systems and worlds]] {{C|[[Prehistoric human civilization#Sphere of influence|prehistoric humans]]}}

*[[Covenant#Known Covenant worlds|Covenant systems and worlds]]

*[[Ecumene#Known regions, systems and worlds|Forerunner systems and worlds]]

[[File:H5G-Lasky&Roland.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Roland]] and [[Thomas Lasky|Lasky]] examining the takeover of multiple systems by the [[Created]].{{Ref/Reuse|guardianslevel}}]]

Because the Covenant have been spacefaring for over three millennia,{{Ref/Book|[[Halo Encyclopedia]]|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|[[Halo: Warfleet]]|Page=52}} The Covenant dominated much of the galaxy but would leave a world untouched unless it had religious or practical importance.<ref>''[[Halo Waypoint]]'', ??</ref> 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 [[glassed]] during the [[Covenant]]'s history.

[[File:RW_SpitzerMilkyWay.jpg|thumb|right|The real-world NASA image from which the ''Halo 3'' Milky Way texture was based off.{{Ref/Site|URL=http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/mediaimages/sig/sig05-010.shtml|SiteName=NASA|PageName=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 known and 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|Yes it was!|D=02|M=3|Y=2021}}

**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition|Limited Edition]]''

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