Milky Way

Astronomers are Closing in on the Source of Galactic Cosmic Rays

By Carolyn Collins Petersen - June 17, 2025

In 1912, astronomer Victor Hess discovered strange, high-energy particles called "cosmic rays." Since then, researchers have hunted for their birthplaces. Today, we know about some of the cosmic ray "launch pads", ranging from the Sun and supernova explosions to black holes and distant active galactic nuclei. What astronomers are now searching are sources of cosmic rays within the Milky Way Galaxy. One such source is a pulsar wind nebula sending high-energy particles out to space.

Did the Hubble Just Cancel the Milky Way-Andromeda Collision?

By Evan Gough - June 02, 2025

The idea that the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) will collide emerged after decades of observations by a host of astronomers. The Hubble played a decisive role in the determination during the early 2000s. It was a triumph of precision astronomy and space telescopes. Now, the Hubble has played an equally important role in cancelling the collision.

Mapping the Center of the Milky Way in 3D

By Mark Thompson - May 22, 2025

The Solar System is a whopping 26,000 light-years from the heart of the Milky Way, where a mysterious and dense region—shrouded in thick gas and dust—holds one of the Galaxy's most active zones: the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). A team of scientists have unleashed a cutting-edge 3D model of this region, mapping out everything from massive molecular clouds to young stars in the making. Armed with powerful radio telescopes and infrared observatories, they've pieced together a detailed map, offering a rare glimpse into the heart of our Galaxy's chaotic core.

There are Planets Forming in the Center of the Milky Way

By Mark Thompson - May 15, 2025

Astronomers have discovered a protoplanetary disks where planets are born thrive in the most violent region of our Galaxy. For years the galactic center was thought to be too chaotic and hostile for planet formation. This is wrong. New ALMA observations have seen planet nurseries flourishing in the turbulent Central Molecular Zone near our Galaxy's heart, challenging everything we thought we knew about how worlds are born. Planets find a way.

There's a Chorus of Gravitational Waves Coming from the Core of the Milky Way. Will We Hear Them?

By Brian Koberlein - May 07, 2025

There is a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, and it's not alone. There is also likely a forest of binary black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs. All of these emit gravitational waves as they gradually spiral ever closer together. These gravitational waves are too faint for us to detect at the moment, but future observatories will be able to observe them. This poses an interesting astronomical challenge.

What Blew Up the Local Bubble?

By Paul Sutter - April 18, 2025

In our neighborhood of the Milky Way, we see a region surrounding the solar system that is far less dense than average. But that space, that cavity, is a very irregular, elongated shape. What little material is left inside of this cavity is insanely hot, as it has a temperature of around a million Kelvin.

How Astronomers Mapped the Interstellar Medium - And Discovered The Local Bubble

By Paul Sutter - April 16, 2025

How can astronomers pierce through the interstellar fog of the Milky Way – not to study distant objects, but to understand the fog itself? It just takes a little light.

There are Space Tornadoes Surrounding the Core of the Milky Way

By Carolyn Collins Petersen - March 25, 2025

What happens when you mix clouds of gas and dust, strong outflows, and energetic shock waves at the core of the Milky Way Galaxy? Space tornadoes. At least, that's how researchers using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile to study the galaxy's heart described what they found.

Dust Obscures Our View of the Cosmos. Now it's Mapped Out in the Milky Way

By Brian Koberlein - March 18, 2025

We see the Universe through a glass darkly, or more accurately, through a dusty window. Interstellar dust is scattered throughout the Milky Way, which limits our view depending on where we look. In some directions, the effects of dust are small, but in other regions the view is so dusty it's called the Zone of Avoidance. Dust biases our view of the heavens, but fortunately a new study has created a detailed map of cosmic dust so we can better account for it.

A New Way to Measure Where the Milky Way's Dark Matter Is

By Carolyn Collins Petersen - February 28, 2025

The Solar System is Taking a Fascinating Journey Through the Milky Way

By Evan Gough - February 27, 2025

How Astronomers Make Deep Maps of the Milky Way

By Paul Sutter - February 22, 2025

Star Formation Might Depend on Galactic Magnetic Fields

By Evan Gough - January 31, 2025

Planet Formation Favors the Metal-Rich Inner Milky Way

By mark-thompson - January 28, 2025

Sticks and Stones: The Molecular Clouds in the Heart of the Milky Way

By Evan Gough - January 17, 2025

The Most Accurate View of the Milky Way

By Evan Gough - January 16, 2025

Astronomers See Flares Coming from the Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole

By Andy Tomaswick - January 15, 2025

Here's How We Could Measure the Mass of SgrA* to Within One Solar Mass

By Brian Koberlein - January 14, 2025

The mass of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, SgrA*, is roughly 4.3 million times the mass of the Sun, give or take a few hundred thousand solar masses. But a team of astronomers thinks they can dial that accuracy down to know with an error rate of a single solar mass. They propose to do this by measuring gravitational waves from SgrA* as brown dwarfs orbit it closely. These dwarfs act like natural probes mapping out the warped space around SgrA*.

A Binary Star Found Surprisingly Close to the Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole

By Brian Koberlein - December 19, 2024

Astronomers have already discovered many stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, Sgr A*. Now, researchers have announced they've found a binary star system in the vicinity too. This is surprising since Sgr A* tears at nearby stars with its ferocious tidal forces, and you'd expect binary stars to be separated from one another after too many close flybys. Well, there they are, still a pair after millions of years.

Tidal Steams of Interstellar Objects May Flow Through the Milky Way Like Braided Rivers

By Brian Koberlein - December 11, 2024

Interstellar objects visit our solar system all the time. A new study shows they likely come in streams of sibling objects from the same star system.

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