What does our Milky Way count like ? It might surprise you that we do n’t actually know for sure , at least the far lot of it . But a fresh find may finally reveal the exact shape of the extragalactic nebula we call nursing home .
This astonishing finding , print in the journalScience , is that scientist have measure the aloofness to a group of whizz on the opposite side of the galax for the first time . Now , we can commence map what the Milky Way looks like .
The team used theVery Long Baseline Array(VLBA ) , a grouping of 10 telescope overspread across North America , to measure the distance to a remote genius - form region call G007.47 + 00.05 . It was measured in the Scutum Centaurus Arm of our wandflower . This discovery also in reality proves that weapon system exists , which is nice .
Called parallax , the technique permit them to quantify the length to the stars by note the variety in slant to the remote neighborhood when Earth was on opposite face of the Sun . The modest the slant , the greater the distance .
see the far side is hard because of the interstellar junk that blocks optical light . In this enquiry , however , the scientists were able to trace the motion of wood alcohol and water molecules in the upstage hotshot - form part .
The result ? Well , they measure the distance as 66,000 light - years , based on observance made in 2014 and 2015 . The old disk using parallax was a relatively paltry 36,000 lite - old age .
“ This measurement correspond to being able to measure a baseball game on the lunar Earth’s surface , ” Alberto Sanna from the Max - Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy ( MPIfR ) in Germany , the study ’s lead story writer , told IFLScience .
“ We are basically measuring the space to an object which is located on the other side of the galaxy with respect to the Sun . ”
The find was made as part of a broader survey called BASSAL . The main goal of this is to assess distance to star - forming regions all through the Milky Way , and the final goal is to restore a grimace - on view of our galaxy from a million light - yr out in at least 10 years .
Already from these results , we are finding the far side is a moment challenging . For exemplar , the arm that this star - mould area is in was found to be not quite flat , but instead lurch up and down .
While the VLBA has been around for a couple of 10 , it is only now the parallax technique has been refined to make this measurement possible . The squad now go for to map the distance to other portions of the galax , with about a quarter leave unchartered .
