Milky Way
"artist's rendering shows a view of our own Milky Way Galaxy and its central bar as it might appear if viewed from above."
Larger image with Sun [2,974 KB]
Larger image without Sun [2,974 KB]
Larger image with Sun [2,974 KB]
Larger image without Sun [2,974 KB]
Image Source:
Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA
Stars of the Milky Way behind the Herschel telescope in La Palma, Spain (Canary Islands).
Image Source:
Image copyright Nik Szymanek
Questions for thought
- How is the plane of the Milky Way galaxy oriented?
Related resources
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Galactic survey reveals a new look for the Milky Way
"According to a massive new survey of stars at the heart of the galaxy by Wisconsin astronomers, including professor of astonomy Edward Churchwell and professor of physics Robert Benjamin, the Milky Way has a definitive bar feature -- some 27,000 light years in length -- that distinguishes it from pedestrian spiral galaxies, as shown in this artist's rendering" (the one we show above).
University of Madison-Wisconsin