Milky Way

Cosmic Dance Challenges Our Understanding of Universe

January 17, 2013, 3:00 pm

Deep images of the sky reveal that the universe contains billions of galaxies. Some, such as our own Milky Way, are immense, containing hundreds of billions of stars. Most [...]

Galactic ‘Nessie Bone’ Discovered in Milky Way

January 10, 2013, 3:48 pm

A long skinny filament of dust and gas has been found in our galaxy that astronomers refer to as a “bone.”

Disc of Dwarf Galaxies Dancing Around Andromeda

January 8, 2013, 3:30 pm

Our neighboring galaxy Andromeda is being circled by about 30 smaller galaxies, half of which are in a vast thin plane like a pancake.

Milky Way’s Monster Outflows Help Generate Galactic Magnetic Field

January 4, 2013, 2:30 am

Supersonic geysers of charged particles have been discovered streaming from our galaxy’s center that span about two-thirds of the sky when viewed from Earth.

More Than 84 Million Stars Cataloged in Milky Way’s Bulge

October 24, 2012, 7:18 am

Over 10 times more stars than previously seen have been imaged in our galaxy’s central area with the VISTA infrared survey telescope.

Planets Could Form in Milky Way’s Danger Zone

September 12, 2012, 12:23 pm

New planets may be able to form in our galaxy’s Galactic Center, despite being the site of intense cosmic forces like supernova shock waves and the gravitational tides of a [...]

‘Pigtail’ Molecular Cloud Discovered in Galactic Center

September 6, 2012, 5:08 am

A cloud of gas with a strange helical structure has been found using the Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO) 45m Telescope in the Japan Alps.

VISTA Sets Stellar Sights on Messier 55

May 9, 2012, 6:00 am

The European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) has snapped this new picture of Messier 55, which contains some of our [...]