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NEWS ABOUT: Milky Way

Astronomers: Yep, Milky Way Is White

And it has a lot of planets

(Newser) - What does the Milky Way look like, from outside the Milky Way? It seems like an impossible question to answer, but astronomers found a way—and discovered in the process that the Milky Way is, as one might have guessed, white. "If you looked at new spring snow, which... More »

Local Black Hole About to Chow Down

Milky Way's super-massive black hole to devour gas cloud

(Newser) - The super-massive black hole at the heart of our galaxy is about to have a feast—and astronomers think it's going to be messy. A giant gas cloud has been spotted approaching the black hole, which lies some 27,000 light years from Earth. Scientists believe the cloud will... More »

Scientists Find Orphan Planets Without Stars

Astronomers discover 10 in Milky Way that don't orbit another body

(Newser) - They're outcasts on a galactic scale, rebels without a star: Astronomers think they have discovered 10 massive planets that defy a standard definition of what it means to be a planet: They orbit no star. What's more, the astronomers believe there are many, many more roaming free about... More »

Alien Planet Discovered in Milky Way

HIP 13044B and its star originated in different galaxy

(Newser) - As planets go, HIP 13044B is one hell of a survivor. Astronomers say the planet—the first one originating from another galaxy ever found in the Milky Way—is part of a solar system that once belonged to a dwarf galaxy that was cannibalized by our own. The planet has... More »

Milky Way Emits Huge Gamma Ray Bubbles

Massive bubbles of energy stump astrophysicists

(Newser) - Scientists say they have discovered two vast and mysterious bubbles of gamma-ray energy coming from the center of our galaxy. The bubbles, which extend an incredible 25,000 light years above and below the galaxy's plane, were discovered by scientists analyzing data from NASA's Fermi telescope, the Los Angeles Times... More »

Space Telescope Captures Big Bang Radiation

Planck beams back microwave map of entire sky

(Newser) - The European Space Agency’s Planck space telescope has beamed back its first, much-anticipated image: a map of the entire sky, composed of microwave light. That bright line in the center of the image is our own Milky Way galaxy, and the lights surrounding it represent not stars but the... More »

Telescope Spots 'Impossible' Star

Will become one of biggest and brightest in galaxy

(Newser) - The Herschel telescope has made an "impossible" discovery: a star so large it dwarfs our sun—and it's still growing. The newborn is already eight to 10 times the size of the sun, and will continue to feed off the 2,000 solar masses that surround it. While scientists... More »

Discovery of Earth's Twin 'Within Reach'

Kepler will find habitable planet like ours: astronomer

(Newser) - The Kepler spacecraft prowling the far reaches of the Milky Way will soon find a habitable planet similar to earth, a leading astronomer is convinced. Recent technological advances in the observation of planets outside our own solar system have rapidly brought us closer to finding earth's "twin" planet, says... More »

32 New Exoplanets Discovered

New finds signal that cosmos harbors wealth of planets

(Newser) - European astronomers have discovered 32 new planets in other solar systems, bringing the total of known exoplanets to over 400. The planets—which range in size from five times the size of Earth to five times the size of Jupiter—were found circling a variety of stars. The new discoveries... More »

Orbiting Telescope Snaps Delicious Pics of Milky Way

Herschel captures whirling gas, dust, star in chaotic galaxy

(Newser) - Stunningly detailed images of our Milky Way galaxy showing whirling clouds of gas peppered with stars have been captured by Europe's $1.4 billion orbiting Herschel Space Observatory. Herschel has the largest mirror ever placed on an orbiting telescope and is able to capture images beyond the reach of other... More »

Scientists Spot Galaxy 'Cannibalism'

Andromeda is consuming other galaxies and the Milky Way's on the menu

(Newser) - The vast Andromeda galaxy has been growing by gobbling up neighboring galaxies, reports the BBC. Astronomers mapping the galaxy—at 2.5 million light years away, the Milky Way's closest neighbor—discovered stars within that they believe to be the remnants of dwarf galaxies consumed by Andromeda. The galaxy is... More »

'Big Wave' Theory Challenges 'Dark Energy'

(Newser) - The 'Big Wave,' a new explanation for the universe's mysterious accelerating expansion, is sending ripples through the world of astronomy. According to the theory, the Big Bang set off a wave, or waves, that rippled outward through space-time, making distant galaxies appear to expand away from us. Mathematicians came... More »

Scientists Discover Bigger, Faster Milky Way

Scientists revise image of our galaxy

(Newser) - A study of the Milky Way using radio telescopes scattered across the US paints a new and dramatically different picture of our galaxy, reports Space.com. Our spiral-shaped galaxy is not only spinning faster than previously thought, it has 50% greater mass, with two hitherto unknown spiral arms where many... More »

3-D Map Adds Light Years to Concept of Universe

Survey used red shift to find relative distances of heavenly bodies

(Newser) - Telescope photographs of the night sky are compelling, but it’s hard to get a feel for the heavens when you’re Earthbound. The recently completed Sloan Digital Sky Survey can help: It is a 3-D map of the area within 2 billion light years of Earth that allows the... More »

New Planets Yield Hopes of Life Beyond

Rocky, Earth-like orbs appear to be out there; might we indeed have company?

(Newser) - The discovery, announced last week, that rocky, Earth-sized planets appear to be circling sun-sized stars in our own galaxy should thrill the closet Star Trek geek in all of us, Natalie Angier writes in the New York Times. "If planets abound, scientists suspect that life abounds, too, at least... More »

Youngest Supernova Discovered

Exploding star found in Milky Way

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered the remains of the youngest exploding star, or supernova, ever seen in the Milky Way, shedding new light on the life cycles of stars. The baby supernova G1.9+0.3 is a mere 140 years old, reports National Geographic. Supernovas are a vital component of galaxy development... More »

Black Mini Still Has Hole Lotta Power

15-mile-wide black hole is smallest ever found

(Newser) - Astronomers have spotted the smallest black hole ever discovered, Reuters reports. It is just 15 miles across—the size of a city—but still has a pull strong enough to "stretch your body into a strand of spaghetti," said a NASA researcher. The relative pipsqueak weighs about as... More »

Space Cloud on Collision Course

Huge mass of hydrogen could trigger star formation in Milky Way

(Newser) - A cloud of hydrogen 11,000 light years long and 2500 light years wide is headed straight for our galaxy, and the inevitable collision will create a spectacular burst of star formation. But don't plan your viewing party yet—Smith's Cloud, as it is called, won't arrive for another 20... More »

Milky Way May Have a Hidden Neighbor

Scientist think another galaxy could be cause of odd gravitational pull

(Newser) - We may have new neighbors. Astronomers think they've discovered the cause of a peculiar gravitational pull on the Milky Way—it's another galaxy hidden behind a giant cloud of cosmic dust, the New Scientist reports. The new galaxy could be as close as 3 million light years away, a relative... More »

King of Supernovas Sheds Light on Early Stars

(Newser) - Researchers are reporting the biggest stellar explosion ever recorded—a discovery which could shed light on how the universe was shaped. The star, 150 times more massive than the sun, went out with a bang 100 times more powerful than typical supernovas. Astronomers think the first stars after the Big... More »

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