milky way
Mapping the Milky Way’s Dark Matter Halo
Anytime astronomers talk of mapping the Milky Way I am always reminded how tricky the study of the Universe can…
The Inner and Outer Milky Way Aren’t the Same Thickness, and that’s Surprising
At first glance, the universe and night sky seem largely unchanging. The reality is very different, even now, a gas…
The Milky Way’s Last Merger Event Was More Recent Than Thought
The Milky Way is only as massive as it is because of collisions and mergers with other galaxies. This is…
Hot Gas is Being Vented Away from the Center of the Milky Way
Studying gas in the Universe is no easy task. We often look to ‘non-visible’ wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum such…
Three of the Oldest Stars in the Universe Found Circling the Milky Way
Mention the Milky Way and most people will visualise a great big spiral galaxy billions of years old. It’s thought…
Does the Milky Way Have Too Many Satellite Galaxies?
The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are well known satellite galaxies of the Milky Way but there are more. It…
Mapping the Milky Way’s Magnetic Field in 3D
We are all very familiar with the concept of the Earth’s magnetic field. It turns out that most objects in…
The Milky Way’s History is Written in Streams of Stars
The Milky Way is ancient and massive, a collection of hundreds of billions of stars, some dating back to the…
Roman Will Learn the Ages of Hundreds of Thousands of Stars
Astronomers routinely provide the ages of the stars they study. But the methods of measuring ages aren't 100% accurate. Measuring…
The Stellar Demolition Derby in the Centre of the Galaxy
The region near the Milky Way's centre is dominated by the supermassive black hole that resides there. Sagittarius A*'s overwhelming…