2025年5月13日
Gaia Reconstructs a Top View of our Galaxy
Illustration Credit: ESA, Gaia, DPAC, Stefan Payne-Wardenaar
Explanation: What does our Milky Way Galaxy look like from the top? 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 Gaia mission. The resulting featured illustration shows that just like many other spiral galaxies, our Milky Way has distinct spiral arms. Our Sun and most of the bright stars we see at night are in just one arm: Orion. Gaia data bolsters previous indications that our Milky Way has more than two spiral arms. Our Galaxy’s center sports a prominent bar. The colors of our Galaxy’s thin disk derive mostly from dark dust, bright blue stars, and red emission nebula. Although data analysis is ongoing, Gaia was deactivated in March after a succession mission.
Jigsaw Challenge: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Tomorrow’s picture: big space egg
盖亚任务重建的银河系俯视图
图示提供: ESA, Gaia, DPAC, Stefan Payne-Wardenaar
说明: 从上方俯视，银河系长什么模样？由于我们位于银河系内部，无法取得真实的照片。不过，最近使用欧洲航天局盖亚任务（Gaia mission）超过10亿颗恒星的位置数据，科学家绘制出银河系的俯视图。如这幅建构出的主题图示所示，与许多 其他 螺旋 星系类似，银河系拥有鲜明的旋臂。太阳和我们于夜空中见到的亮星，全都座落在猎户旋臂里。而先前就有银河系拥有超过2条旋臂的臆测，盖亚数据进一步支持这项推测。此外，银河中心有条非常醒目的核心棒。在此图里，银河系弯曲中央盘面的色泽，主要来自黝黑纤薄的星际尘埃、明亮的蓝色恒星，以及红色的发射星云。尽管数据分析仍在持续之中，但是为了给后续的任务让出位置，盖亚天文卫星已于今年三月除役。
拼图挑战: 每日天文学谜题
明日的图片: big space egg
