Serway & Jewett — Physics and Measurement: Problem 31

The distance from the Sun to the nearest star is about \(4 \times 10^{16}\text{ m}\). The Milky Way galaxy (Fig. P1.31) is roughly a disk of diameter \(10^{21}\text{ m}\) and thickness \(\approx 10^{19}\text{ m}\). Find the order of magnitude of the number of stars in the Milky Way. Assume the distance between the Sun and our nearest neighbor is typical.