or MILKY WAY (Gr. Παλαιστις), the great luminous tract which encompasses the heavens like a coronal or girdle, and which is easily perceivable in a clear night, especially when the moon does not appear. It passes between Sagittarius and Gemini, and divides the sphere into two parts. It is unequally broad, and in some parts is single, in others double. See ASTRONOMY, vol. iv. p. 86.