island universe

plural island universes

1. datedinformalastronomyA galaxy.

   Many stories have been invented to account for this milky band of light, but today we know that it is the light of millions and millions of stars making up our “Island Universe” the Milky-Way Galaxy.

   1968 January 15, “Skies Over Port Huron”, in Port Huron Times Herald, volume 58, number 15, Port Huron, Mich., section A, page 8

   1 more example

   You will notice that the wide band of sky which follows the Milky-Way from the northeastern horizon to straight overhead (through the summer triangle mentioned in the Aug. 14 Nugget) and on to the southern horizon is far richer in stars than the rest of the sky. This is because the Milky-Way Galaxy, our local “island universe,” is a disk-shaped object and quite thin in comparison with its diameter.

   1975 August 28, Stephen Dodson, “There’s a star in the sky for each person on earth”, in The North Bay Nugget, 69th year, number 62, North Bay, Ont., page 7