From the violent births of newborn stars to the hidden mysteries of the galactic core, these new images show the Milky Way as you’ve never seen it before.
After 13 years of observations, scientists have now revealed the most detailed map of our galaxy ever made.
Using infrared light, astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) peered through the dust and gas which normally hides the centre of the galaxy.
Their vast survey shows 1.5 billion moons, stars, and planets and covers an area of sky equivalent to 8,600 full moons.
Lead researcher Dante Minniti, of the Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile, says: ‘We made so many discoveries, we have changed the view of our Galaxy forever.’
Researchers have created the most detailed map of the Milky Way ever created, capturing stunning images of the 1.5 billion stars, planets, and moons captured by the survey
This latest map covers an area equivalent to 8,600 full moons. This diagram shows the area covered by the latest survey covered by the map. The red regions show areas covered by the previous largest observation project
Over 420 nights of observation, the ESO’s VISTA telescope scanned the same regions of the sky to build up an enormously detailed map of the faintest objects.
The researchers’ efforts have resulted in the largest map of our galaxy ever made.
This new map, known as the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea extended (VVVX), is composed of over 200,000 individual images taken between 2010 and 2023.
With 1.5 billion objects recorded, the VVVX contains about 10 times more objects than the previous biggest map released in 2012.
The resulting dataset is so vast that it contains 500 terabytes of data – roughly equivalent to 124,000 high-definition movies.
Images released by the researchers reveal bright glowing nebulas and vast clusters of stars.
Using an infrared telescope, the researchers were able to observe features such formation of new stars. This image shows a stellar nursery called NGC 6357 where hot young stars are formed out of gas
Since infrared light passes through gas and dust these images reveal more details of galactic processes. This image shows a pair of newly forming stars 22,000 and 9,000 lightyears away from us
In one image, the VVVX captures a pair of stunning nebulas, called NGC 3603 and NGC 3576, which are 22,000 and 9,000 lightyears from Earth respectively.
Inside these distant clouds of gas, researchers can see the intense forces which give birth to new stars.
At the other end of the cosmic spectrum, another image shows Messier 22, a cluster of extremely old stars located 10,000 lightyears from Earth.
These distant groups of stars are among some of the oldest objects in the galaxy.
Dr Minniti told MailOnline that the survey also revealed a number of unknown objects known by the researchers as WIT – standing for ‘What is this?’
While these images are beautiful, the depth and detail of this new map also give researchers a window into the inner workings of the Milky Way.
The map also reveals some of the oldest objects in the Galaxy such as the globular cluster Messier 22 (pictured) which is 10,000 lightyears from Earth
These images are not just pretty but also provide astronomers with the basis for future research into the most difficult-to-observe regions of the Milky Way. Pictured: The NGC 6188 Firebird Nebula
Dr Minniti says: ‘We have a much clearer picture of the inner and far regions of the Milky Way disk now, that help us to understand how our Galaxy was assembled and how it evolved with time.’
The dataset is so large that the researchers have not yet finished inspecting all of the new discoveries.
However, the team hope that their observations will lay the basis for the work of future astronomers.
Co-lead author Dr Philip Lucas, an astronomer at the University of Hertfordshire, told MailOnline: ‘The map will become the international standard for studying the southern Milky Way in decades to come.’
The new map’s biggest advantage is that it allows astronomers to look into regions of the galaxy normally hidden by most telescopes.
Infrared light lets the researchers look into the core of the galaxy which is normally obscured by gas and dust. Pictured: The Omega Nebula, 5,5000 lightyears from Earth
This photo compares an image of the Carina Nebula from the new map (top) with an image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope
Light in the visible spectrum is blocked by the clouds of gas and dust which populate the Milky Way but infrared light passes through these obstructions.
By tracking these objects in the core over such a long time, the researchers were able to chart how they moved and build up a 3D map of the galaxy’s innermost regions.
Dr Lucas says that this allows researchers to observe objects such as a new type of elderly giant star nicknamed an ‘old smoker’ in ways that have not been possible before.
These ancient stars can sit quietly for decades before unexpectedly producing clouds of smoke.
Dr Lucas says: ‘Their strange behaviour is a good old fashioned astrophysical mystery.’
However, the infrared imaging from VVVX map can provide new data about these elusive objects.
Infrared imaging also allowed the researchers to spot extremely cold objects like free-floating planets which don’t orbit any star or burned-out stars called brown dwarfs.
The researchers are now preparing to upgrade the VISTA telescope with new instruments so they can gather more spectral data about the 1.5 billion objects surveyed.
