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The Milky Way is ‘less weird’ than we thought

The Galaxy’s core isn't as densely packed with stars as models suggested, a study finds, aligning it more closely with similar spiral galaxies.
  1. Sumeet Kulkarni
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A blue and purple Milky Way in the sky over a landscape of cloud-covered hills and plains in New Mexico, USA

When we see the Milky Way from Earth, we are looking at the edge of one of its spiral arms. Credit: Getty

Our Galactic home just got a remodel. Peering through the dust and gas that intersperse our Galaxy, astronomers have found that the Milky Way’s core is less dense than originally thought.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02143-9

References

  1. Lian, J. et al. Nature Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02315-7 (2024).

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  2. Bland-Hawthorn, J. & Gerhard, O. Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 54, 529–596 (2016).

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