The Milky Way galaxy is estimated to contain between 100 billion and 400 billion stars. Most sources commonly cite a figure around 200 billion stars, but the range varies due to uncertainties in counting the faintest and smallest stars, especially red dwarfs, which are numerous but difficult to detect directly
. The European Space Agency's Gaia mission, which has mapped over a billion stars in the Milky Way's neighborhood, supports this estimate but also highlights the difficulty in determining an exact number due to observational limits
. In summary, the best current scientific consensus is that the Milky Way contains roughly 200 billion stars, with plausible estimates ranging from 100 billion up to 400 billion stars
