The Perseus Arm is one of two major spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy. The second major arm is called the Scutum–Centaurus Arm. The Perseus Arm begins from the distal end of the long Milky Way central bar. Previously thought to be 13,000 light-years away from Earth, research published in 2005 has suggested that it is less than half that distance, estimated at 6,400 light years, from the Solar System.