Astronomers are spying on the Milky Way’s neighbors, assessing the amount of light that escapes from them and how this is connected to each galaxy’s physical properties. This deep investigation of our local universe could help scientists better understand the early, distant galaxies currently being observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble…
The Gaia satellite is making the most detailed and complete map of the stars in our galaxy Credit: Nadieh Bremer After launching to space in 2013, the European Space Agency’s Gaia telescope has been spinning in full circles every six hours, mapping all the stars it can see in every direction. Scientists recently released a…
For decades, dwarf galaxies surrounding Milky Way have been thought to be satellites. They have been considered a constant companion of our galaxy for billions of years. Data from ESA’s Gaia mission is re-writing the history of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The data has computed the motions of these dwarf galaxies with unprecedented precision,…
Until now, hypothetical models expected that three elements- the gas coming from outside our galaxy, the gas inside our galaxy, and the dust created by the condensation of the metals present in this gas were homogeneously blended all through the Milky Way. But a new study from a team of astronomers from the University of…
The galaxy called UGC 10738, a galaxy broadly similar to the Milky Way, has distinct ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ discs identical to those of the Milky Way. Located about 320 million light-years away, the galaxy’s disk contains mainly ancient stars. It is identified because of its low ratio of iron to hydrogen and helium. A new…