VISTA finds hidden feature of Milky Way

Astronomers using the VISTA telescope at ESO���s Paranal Observatory have discovered a previously unknown component of the Milky Way. By mapping out the locations of a class of stars that vary in brightness called Cepheids, a disc of young stars buried behind thick dust clouds in the central bulge has been found.

This diagram shows the locations of the newly discovered Cepheids in an artist���s rendering of the Milky Way. The yellow star indicates the position of the Sun.