Gaia Early Data Release 3 - the journey of 1.6 million stars across the sky

The night sky ends up looking very different.

Dazzling video shows how Milky Way will evolve over 400,000 years

Star Navigation

European Space Agency scientists put out a time-lapse video showing how the Milky Way galaxy will evolve over 400,00 years.

Dazzling Video Shows How Milky Way Will Evolve Over 400,000 Years

Our whole galaxy — in the palm of your hand.

"Gaia has been staring at the heavens for the past seven years, mapping the positions and velocities of stars."

This is the most detailed map of the Milky Way in history

Zooming Out

The European Space Agency compiled the most detailed map of the Milky Way galaxy in history, plotting the location and course of nearly 2 billion stars.

This Is the Most Detailed Map of the Milky Way in History

You can check it out right here.

Simulation of the formation of the Milky Way

"As our cosmic home, the Milky Way is already special to us, but this ancient galaxy buried within makes it even more special."

Scientists find remnants of "fossil galaxy" inside the Milky Way

Pac-Man Galaxy

Astronomers found evidence of a "fossil galaxy" buried deep inside the Milky Way. It seems our galaxy gobbled up one of its neighbors 10 billion years ago.

Scientists Find Remnants of “Fossil Galaxy” Inside the Milky Way

Long ago, our galaxy gobbled up and absorbed another one.

"This is a key term of the Drake Equation, used to estimate the number of communicable civilizations."

NASA: Half the Sun-like stars in our galaxy have potentially-habitable planets

Roll Call

New NASA-led research calculated that on average, about one in two Sun-like stars in the Milky Way have exoplanets in their habitable zones.

NASA: Half the Sun-like Stars in our Galaxy Have Potentially-Habitable Planets

"We're one step closer on the long road to finding out if we’re alone in the cosmos."

"It makes you wonder what's going to happen next!"

Astronomers detect "bullets" of gas shooting out of our galactic center

Shooting Blanks

Astronomers have observed that two bubbles around the center of the Milky Way are spitting out clusters of cold molecular gas "like bullets."

Astronomers Detect “Bullets” of Gas Shooting Out of Our Galactic Center

They have no idea what's behind it.

"The big surprise was to find that this galaxy is actually quite similar to nearby galaxies, contrary to all expectations from the models and previous, less detailed, observations."

Astronomers puzzled by ancient Milky Way-like galaxy 12 billion light-years away

Really Really Really Old

Astronomers have discovered an astonishingly Milky Way-like galaxy called SPT0418-47 more than 12 billion light-years away from our own galaxy.

Astronomers Puzzled By Ancient Milky Way-Like Galaxy 12 Billion Light-Years Away

"This result is quite unexpected and has important implications for how we think galaxies evolve."

They're the "first indication" that the Milky Way gobbled up an ancient dwarf galaxy.

Astronomers surprised to find stars streaming into the center of our galaxy

Stellar Caravan

Scientists found a stream of 200 stars hurtling toward the center of the Milky Way, and they suspect they came from another galaxy.

Astronomers Surprised to Find Stars Streaming Into the Center of Our Galaxy

Intriguingly, this river of stars could be held together by a long-dead galaxy's lingering dark matter.

"It's a very important parameter that is often overlooked because it is so hard to understand theoretically. But it could change potentially everything we know about the early stages of the universe to even modern day."

Scientists: Magnetic fields may have crushed our entire galaxy

Galaxy Crusher

New simulations on galaxy development suggest that powerful magnetic fields present in the early universe could have stunted the Milky Way's growth.

Scientists: Magnetic Fields May Have Crushed Our Entire Galaxy

Did unfathomably powerful magnetic fields warp the ancient Milky Way?

"It looks as though the stars are being kicked out from the center."

Astronomers: Our galaxy is belligerently flinging stars into space

This Star Empty

Advanced simulations suggest that supernovae in the center of the Milky Way galaxy are shooting nearby stars all the way to its outer reaches.

Astronomers: Our Galaxy Is Belligerently Flinging Stars Into Space

Social distancing at a galactic scale.

The warped galactic disc of the Milky Way wobbles like a spinning top

It's a mystery that's been puzzling astronomers for years.

Something is wrong with our galaxy. We might now know why.

Wanna Feel Small in the Universe?

According to a new study using data collected by the ESA, the Milky Way is being warped as it's slowly colliding with a smaller neighboring galaxy.

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