Milky Way
Latest about Milky Way

'Interstellar messenger' 3I/ATLAS could be nearly as old as the universe itself, James Webb telescope observations reveal
By Patrick Pester published
The comet formed in a cold and distant part of the early Milky Way up to 12 billion years ago, potentially putting it just under 2 billion years the age of the universe.

A 'mass migration' of stars from the Milky Way's center could explain why there's life in our solar system
By Elizabeth Howell published
The Gaia telescope spotted more than 6,000 sunlike stars, all of which appear to have migrated from the galaxy's center more than 4 billion years ago.

'Rare and enigmatic' structures found at the Milky Way's center in largest-ever map of its kind
By Brandon Specktor last updated
Scientists using the ALMA telescope have created the most-detailed-ever map of the Milky Way's chaotic center. The observations could open a window to the ancient universe as it appeared shortly after the Big Bang.

Radio signal discovered at the center of our galaxy could put Einstein's relativity to the test
By Elizabeth Howell published
Scientists hope to probe the nature of general relativity through a possible pulsar found in the center of the Milky Way, near a supermassive black hole.

James Webb telescope solves mystery of 'forever young' vampire stars from the dawn of time
By Ivan Farkas published
Astronomers have discovered how "forever young" stars stay blue and bright despite being almost as old as the universe.

'One of those rare 'wow' moments': Zombie star near Earth has a rainbow shockwave that 'shouldn't be there'
By Harry Baker published
A new study reveals a rare-breaking white dwarf star, dubbed RXJ0528+2838, that is somehow generating a rainbow-like "bow shock" as it zooms through the Milky Way. The cosmic zombie is also ripping apart its partner star like a black hole.

Mysterious, irradiated 'scar' in our galaxy may finally have an explanation
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
Astronomers traced a mysterious 'scar' of ionized gas around the solar system to two stars that had a close flyby with our sun millions of years ago.

Did a NASA telescope really 'see' dark matter? Strange gamma-rays spark bold claims, but scientists urge caution
By Elizabeth Howell published
A new study says observations from the NASA Fermi space telescope suggest a halo of dark matter around the center of our galaxy, but more information is needed to confirm the result.

What's the darkest place in the solar system? What about the universe?
By Alice Sun published
Space looks very dark from Earth. But does the solar system, and the universe for that matter, have an area that's the darkest of all?

Unprecedented view of the Milky Way took 40,000 hours to construct — Space photo of the week
By Shreejaya Karantha published
Created using data from two extensive surveys, this spectacular radio image of the galactic plane of the Milky Way provides valuable insights into the birth and death of stars.
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