“We knew the Milky Way had a bar, like other barred spiral galaxies. But we only had indirect indications from the motions of stars and gas. This is the first time we see the galactic bar in 3D space, based on geometric measurements of stellar distances.” Source: https://earthsky.org/space/gaia-starts-mapping-our-milky-ways-bar…
Tag: Milky Way Galaxy
M17 is the Omega Nebula
The Omega Nebula – M17 – is visible through binoculars and glorious in a low power telescope. It’s one of our galaxy’s vast star-forming regions. How to find it. Source: https://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/m17-is-the-omega-nebula…
Vega and its constellation Lyra
The Summer Triangle consists of 3 bright stars in 3 different constellations. The brightest is Vega in the constellation Lyra. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/summer-triangle-vega-and-its-constellation-lyra-2…
Gaia starts mapping the galactic bar in the Milky Way
The second release of data from the Gaia star-mapping satellite, published in 2018, has been revolutionising many fields of astronomy. The unprecedented catalogue contains the brightness, positions, distance indicators and motions across the sky for more than one billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy, along with information about other celestial bodies. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-07-gaia-galactic-bar-milky.html…
Come to know the Summer Triangle
Coming to know the Summer Triangle, then seeing it again and again on summer nights, is a deep pleasure that adds to the enjoyment of this season. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/summer-triangle-predominates-during-the-summer-seaso…
Subaru Telescope identifies the outermost edge of the Milky Way system
A team of researchers identified the outermost edge of the Milky Way galaxy. Using the Subaru Telescope, the researchers examined the boundary of the stellar system that makes up the galaxy. The ultimate size of the galaxy is 520,000 light years in radius, 20 times larger than the distance between the galactic center and our solar system (26,000 light years) (Figure…
Our Galaxys Magnetic Center
What’s the magnetic field like in the center of our Milky Way Galaxy? Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html…
IAU invites countries to name exoplanets
Nearly 100 countries have already signed up to organize national campaigns, to provide the public with an opportunity to vote. The deadline is July 30 to express interest in organizing a national campaign. The IAU will announce results in December. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/iau-invites-countries-to-name-exoplanets…
ALMA spies a cool gas ring around our Milky Way’s central black hole
New observations by the ALMA telescope in Chile have revealed a never-before-seen disk of cool, interstellar gas wrapped around Sagittarius A*, the giant black hole at the center of our galaxy. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cool-gas-ring-milky-way-central-black-hole…
Astronomers take a closer look at emission from the supernova remnant MSH 15−56
By analyzing archival data from the Suzaku X-ray satellite, astronomers have learned important information regarding thermal and non-thermal emission from the composite supernova remnant (SNR) designated MSH 15-56. Results of the study, available in a paper published May 29 on arXiv.org, could be helpful in advancing the knowledge about composite SNRs residing in the Milky Way galaxy. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-06-astronomers-closer-emission-supernova-remnant.html…