NASA's just released photo of the Milky Way Galaxy shows the formation in a 360 degree angle.
Astronomers produced the photo named Glimpse 360, using the Spritzer Space Telescope in a project that started in 2003 and just wrapped up after various images were put together Engineering.com reported.
"For the first time, we can actually measure the large-scale structure of the Galaxy using stars rather than gas. We have established beyond the shadow of a doubt that our Galaxy has a large bar structure that extends halfway out to the Sun's orbit. We know more about where the Milky Way's spiral arms are," Edward Churchwell, a professor and team member from the University of Wisconsin-Madison told The Daily Mail.
"We've established beyond the shadow of a doubt that our galaxy has a large bar structure that extends halfway out to the sun's orbit. We know more about where the Milky Way's spiral arms are," Churchwell told Engineering.com.
"We are mapping the placement of the spiral arms and tracing the shape of the galaxy,".Churchwell told The Daily Mail.
The photo would take up lots and lots of space if it were sent to the printer, so another method is being used for its display, which everybody can see, a digital viewer.
"If we actually printed this out, we'd need a billboard as big as the Rose Bowl Stadium to display it," Robert Hurt, an imaging specialist at NASA's Spitzer Space Science Center told The Daily Mail.
"Instead, we've created a digital viewer that anyone, even astronomers, can use,"
The new method also allows all eyes to see other stars in the galaxy, along with additional detail.
'There are a whole lot more lower-mass stars seen now with Spitzer on a large scale, allowing for a grand study," Barbara Whitney of the University of Wisconsin-Madison told The Daily Mail. Whitney is also one of the leaders of the photo's project.
"This gives us some idea of the metabolic rate of our Galaxy. It tells us how many stars are forming each year," Whitney told Sci-News.
"If we actually printed this out, we'd need a billboard as big as the Rose Bowl Stadium to display it," Robert Hurt, an imaging specialist at NASA's Spitzer Space Science Center told The Daily Mail.
