We started class by reviewing the three main types of galaxies (elliptical, spiral, barred spirals; Jared's homework over the weekend), highlighting the fact that ellipticals are older than the spirals, and were probably formed through mergers of two or more galaxies. We then proceeded to discuss the structure of the Milky Way - that it's a barred spiral and consists of a central bulge and nucleus from which the bar and then the spiral arms emanate, and that the Solar System is situated in one of the outer spirals, approximately 8 kpc from the center. We reviewed how - through observations at different wavelengths we came to understand the structure of the Milky Way, and we concluded the session talking about the supermassive black hole sitting at the center.