Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2025 May 12
         [2]A dark field of space surrounds a thin but colorful band
   horizontally across the center. The band is nearly straight but curves
      at its outer edges. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                 Gaia Reconstructs a Side View of our Galaxy
         Illustration [3]Credit: [4]ESA, [5]Gaia, [6]DPAC, [7]Stefan
                               Payne-Wardenaar

   Explanation: What does our [8]Milky Way Galaxy look like from the side?
   Because we are on the inside, humanity can’t get an actual picture.
   Recently, however, just such a map has been made using location data
   for over a billion stars from ESA’s [9]Gaia mission. The resulting
   [10]featured illustration shows that just like [11]many [12]other
   [13]spiral [14]galaxies, our Milky Way has a very thin central disk.
   [15]Our Sun and all the stars we see at night are in this disk.
   Although [16]hypothesized before, perhaps [17]more surprising is that
   the disk appears curved at the outer edges. The colors of our Galaxy's
   [18]warped central band derive mostly from dark [19]dust, [20]bright
   blue stars, and [21]red emission nebulas. Although data analysis is
   ongoing, [22]Gaia was deactivated in March after a successful mission.

              Explore Your Universe: [23]Random APOD Generator
                   Tomorrow's picture: again from the top
     __________________________________________________________________

      [24]< | [25]Archive | [26]Submissions | [27]Index | [28]Search |
   [29]Calendar | [30]RSS | [31]Education | [32]About APOD | [33]Discuss |
                                    [34]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([38]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [39]Specific rights apply.
            [40]NASA Web Privacy, [41]Accessibility, [42]Notices;
                A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC,
                         [46]NASA Science Activation
                           & [47]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2505/MilkyWaySide_Gaia_5000.jpg
   3. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia
   6. https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac
   7. https://bsky.app/profile/stefanpw.bsky.social
   8. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_(spacecraft)
  10. https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/01/The_best_Milky_Way_map_by_Gaia_edge-on
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240606.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220423.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170112.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141105.html
  15. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/
  16. https://www.science.org/content/article/milky-way-more-warped-astronomers-thought
  17. https://www.reddit.com/r/Eyebleach/comments/1cfcrpk/my_dog_is_very_surprised/#lightbox
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120304.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100322.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241209.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241104.html
  22. https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Farewell_Gaia!_Spacecraft_operations_come_to_an_end
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250511.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  30. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250512
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250513.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  46. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  47. http://www.mtu.edu/