--- title: "Oops! Scientists Say Our Galaxy May Be a Different Shape From What They Thought" description: "According to a recent study conducted by a team of Chinese scientists, the Milky Way galaxy might be a regular, two-armed spiral after all." date: "2023-05-19" modified: "2023-05-19" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-galaxy-different-shape" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "space" - "spiral galaxies" - "the digest" - "the milky way" --- # Oops! Scientists Say Our Galaxy May Be a Different Shape From What They Thought ![According to a recent study conducted by a team of Chinese scientists, the Milky Way galaxy might be a regular, two-armed spiral after all.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Not Like Other Girls We might be very wrong about the shape of our galaxy. As [*Space.com* notes](), astronomers believe that the majority of known galaxies generally fall into one of three categories: elliptical**,** irregular, and spiral. The Milky Way is considered to be a spiral galaxy, which usually means that it features two long "arms" that extend from its center. Yet, for the last two decades, the general consensus has been that the Milky Way [actually has *four* arms]() rather than two, making it a highly unusual outlier. Or so we thought. According to a [recent study]() conducted by a team of Chinese scientists, the Milky Way might be a regular, two-armed spiral after all. "In spite of much work, the overall spiral structure morphology of the Milky Way remains somewhat uncertain," reads the scientists' paper, which was published last month in *The Astrophysical Journal*. "In the last two decades, accurate distance measurements have provided us with an opportunity to solve this issue." "Using the precise locations of very young objects, for the first time," it continues, "we propose that our galaxy has a multiple-arm morphology that consists of two-arm symmetry." If ever confirmed, the finding could force us to rethink what we know about the structure of the Milky Way, down to its very shape. ## Central Bulge The scientists came to their conclusion by utilizing data from a new generation of space instruments, including the European Space Agency's Gaia telescope. Gaia, which launched back in 2013, has been tracking the precise movement and distance of stars to create a detailed [3D map]() of the Milky Way. For the purposes of their study, the researchers focused on the location of "OB stars," which are massive celestial bodies with relatively short life spans. Because OB stars don't live terribly long — which means that they move very little — they're ideal candidates for mapping projects like this one. Thanks to their efforts, the scientists were able to draft an alternative model to explain the curious structure of our galaxy. They suggest that while there are several "long, irregular arms" on the outskirts of our galaxy, they may not actually be connected to the Milky Way's central bulge. While the researchers admitted that it's only a theory, further observations of telescopes being built like the Square Kilometre Array in Australia and South Africa could shed more light on the matter. But it's certainly a compelling theory, nonetheless. **More on galaxies:** [*The James Webb May Have Just Found the Oldest Galaxy Ever Seen*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()