TOPICSMilky way
Milky way
The Milky Way is a huge collection of several hundred billion stars, dust, and gas. It is a spiral galaxy that is about 13.6 billion years old. The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System. The Solar System is located at a radius of about 27,000 light-years from the galaxy’s center. The galaxy is rotating, and it takes us about 240 million years to complete one circle around its middle.
Milky Way’s last major galactic collision happened much more recently than previously thought
The data supporting these findings were collected via the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft.
Scientists discovered the slowest-spinning radio-emitting neutron star
Most collapsed stars rotate faster than once per second. This one takes nearly an hour.
Giant magnetic toroids found in Milky Way’s Halo
A new understanding of the physics of our Milky Way.
NASA’s Chandra notices venting galactic center
The chimney and vent are about 26,000 light-years from Earth.
Astrophysicists traced the violent journeys of stars orbiting our galaxy’s central black hole
Stellar collisions produce strange, zombie-like survivors.
NASA’s James Webb Telescope Probes Starburst Galaxy Messier 82
Amid a galaxy teeming with new and young stars lies an intricate substructure.
A large black hole that “hiccups,” giving off plumes of gas
Persistent “hiccups” in a far-off galaxy draw astronomers to new black hole behavior.
Strong magnetic fields spiraling at the edge of the Milky Way’s central black hole
Strong magnetic fields may be common to all black holes
A fresh look at red giant stars offers key insights into cosmic distance measurements
A way to measure the Universe's expansion with the highest accuracy.
Milky Way’s black hole is ready for a kick
How rapidly the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole is spinning?