Astronomers have unveiled the most accurate 3D map of the Milky Way at the moment, a breakthrough that promises new light through galaxy work and the mysteries of the vast universe.
The 3D Images Of Milkyway
A large electronic atlas was compiled with data collected by the European Space Agency’s Gaia Observatory which has been studying the skies and scanning the heavenly bodies since the eruption in 2013 from Kourou in French Guiana.
The map contains sufficient details for astronomers to measure the speed of the solar system and to calculate the size of the galaxy. This will also provide an indication of how the solar system was constructed and the extent to which the universe has grown since the beginning of time.
Nicholas Walton, a member of the ESA scientific team in Gaia at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, compared the effort to fill gaps on ancient maps marking unknown regions with the expression “here are dragons”.
What Has Been Learnt?
“What we’re really doing here is getting a detailed map of the universe at the size of the stars up to a few hundred light years,” he said.
By drawing the positions and movements of the stars, investigations have found destructive processes across the Milky Way. The apparent star distribution between the two adjacent galaxies is evidence that the massive Magellanic Cloud continues to devour the dwindling Small Magellanic Cloud.
Most of the bodies Gaia sees are the quasars, the farthest objects and the brightest light given the dark holes many times millions of times in the sun. By measuring the movement of the solar system in relation to these, Gaia data show that the solar system falls in the middle of the Milky Way at a speed of about 7mm per second each year.
Known as the Galaxy Surveyor, Gaia orbits a planet in the gravitational pull known as the Lagrange area 930,000 miles from the Earth’s orbit. Over the past seven years, research has estimated the size and stamina of nearly 2bn stars. In addition to providing clues to the use of the universe, the data allow astronomers to compile a story distribution in the Milky Way, where they will measure its magnitude.
Lagrange points are the regions in space where gravity keeps things stable. From Gaia’s point of view, this means that less fuel is needed to maintain your current location. The distant orbit has another advantage: it is far enough away from the Earth to avoid the contamination of light that spoils its astronomical view.
Floor van Leeuwen, who oversees Gaia’s data analysis at the Institute for Astronomy, said the vast amount of data allows astronomers to “analyze our astronomical location, and answer important questions about the origin and future of our galaxy”.
Caroline Harper, head of space science at the UK Space Agency, said: “For thousands of years, we have been busy exploring and entering astronomical data and their precise locations as they expand human understanding of our universe.
“Gaia has been staring at the sky for the past seven years, counting the drawings and intensity of the stars. Thanks to telescopes we do not have today, billions of 3D star-studded astronomical books have been compiled. ”
