Experts from the UK used detailed analysis from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Gaia satellite to produce a stunning map of the Milky Way. The ESA’s Gaia satellite has been scanning the galaxy since 2013 and as such experts been able to produce the most extensive and detailed map of our galactic neighbourhood to date.
The atlas will help experts better understand how the Milky Way came to be, and what the future holds for it.
Dr Floor van Leeuwen, at the University of Cambridge, who led the research, said: “Gaia is measuring the distances of hundreds of millions of objects that are many thousands of light years away, at an accuracy equivalent to measuring the thickness of hair at a distance of more than 2,000 kilometres.
“These data are one of the backbones of astrophysics, allowing us to forensically analyse our stellar neighbourhood and tackle crucial questions about the origin and future of our Galaxy.”
To date, Gaia, which orbits our planet 930,000 miles (1.5 million km) from Earth, has measured the brightness and position of more than two billion stars in the Milky Way.
By analysing the “gentle” acceleration of the solar system, researchers are also able to determine the mass of the Milky Way.
The team estimates that over a year the Sun accelerates towards the centre of the galaxy by 7mm per second while orbiting at a speed of about 124 miles (200 km) a second.
Using the newly created maps, the researchers will be able to analyse the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds (SMC & LMC).
The LMC and SMC are two small satellite galaxies which orbit the Milky Way
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According to the team, “nearby” was classified as anything within 326 light years of our host star, of which there are 300,000 stars.
Dr Caroline Harper, head of space science at the UK Space Agency, which provided the funding for the research, said: “For thousands of years, we have been preoccupied with noting and detailing the stars and their precise locations as they expanded humanity’s understanding of our cosmos.
“Gaia has been staring at the heavens for the past seven years, mapping the positions and velocities of stars.
“Thanks to its telescopes we have in our possession today the most detailed billion-star 3D atlas ever assembled.”