Milky Way Galaxy – Page 2

Gaia data reveals previously unseen ‘ghost’ galaxy near Milky Way

13 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers sifting through the treasure trove of data from the Gaia spacecraft have discovered a large but exceedingly dim dwarf galaxy lurking near the outskirts of the Milky Way.

Data indicate Milky Way smash up 10 billion years ago

4 November 2018 Astronomy Now

Data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft indicate a large galaxy collided with the Milky Way about 10 billion years ago, leaving identifiable stars strewn in its wake to help astronomers piece together our galaxy’s history.

Cataclysmic collision re-shaped Milky Way in distant past

4 July 2018 Astronomy Now

A head-on collision between the Milky Way and a smaller body dubbed the “Sausage” galaxy eight to 10 billion years ago had a profound effect on the structure and evolution of Earth’s home in space, astronomers say.

Gaia data pins down 1.7 billion suns in most detailed star catalogue ever

25 April 2018 Astronomy Now

The second data release from the European Space Agency’s hard-working Gaia spacecraft reveals the position and brightness of nearly 1.7 billion stars in the most detailed star catalogue ever developed.

Astronomers collect spectra in search for Sun’s lost siblings

20 April 2018 William Harwood

Australian astronomers are in the process of collecting the spectra of a million stars across the Milky Way in a project to study galactic evolution. In the process, they hope to track down at least some of the sun’s lost siblings.

Milky Way no longer ‘little brother’ to Andromeda

15 February 2018 Astronomy Now

Studies of fast-moving stars in the Andromeda galaxy indicate the huge spiral is less massive than previously believed and more a twin of the Milky Way than a big brother.

At the core, a sea of suns shines like a ‘jewel box full of stars’

8 February 2018 Astronomy Now

The Hubble Space Telescope captures a deep view of stars in the Milky Way’s central bulge, helping astronomers understand a dynamic environment where stars rich in heavier elements orbit the core faster than older stars that are deficient in such elements. The image is part of two on-going surveys to learn more about the galaxy’s structure and evolution.

Galactic merger exposes supermassive black hole

4 November 2016 Astronomy Now

Astronomers using the super-sharp radio vision of the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) have found the shredded remains of a galaxy that passed through a larger galaxy, leaving only the smaller galaxy’s nearly-naked supermassive black hole to emerge and speed away at more than 2,000 miles per second.