APOD: 2025 May 12 Б Gaia Reconstructs a Side View of our Galaxy
Explanation:
What does our
Milky Way Galaxy look like from the side?
Because we are on the inside, humanity canБt get an actual picture.
Recently, however, just such a map has
been made using location data for over a billion stars from ESAБs
Gaia mission.
The resulting featured illustration shows that just like
many
other
spiral
galaxies,
our Milky Way has a very thin central disk.
Our Sun
and all the stars we see at night are in this disk.
Although
hypothesized
before, perhaps more surprising is that the disk appears curved at the outer edges.
The colors of our Galaxy's
warped
central band derive mostly from dark
dust,
bright blue stars, and
red emission nebulas.
Although data analysis is ongoing, Gaia was deactivated in March after a successful mission.
Explore Your Universe:
Random APOD Generator
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
