![A New View Of The Milky Way](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/15256/596555/6040d799a573d/Milky-Way.jpg)
Like a baby, our galaxy ate a lot and grew big. And like a person, it’s constantly changing. Work done by many astronomers shows its all-consuming past, while new results from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia spacecraft show its complex dynamics. Alongside this are new observations of the galaxy we call home.
The popular view of the Milky Way is that it’s a spiral galaxy with arms of stars, dust, and gas radiating out in a disc around 120,000 light-years across, with a central galactic bulge of 10 to 12,000 light-years in diameter. Our Solar System lies 26,000 light-years from the Galactic Centre – between the bulge and the disc edge. Yet there are more elements to the galaxy’s structure than this. Spitzer Space Telescope observations in 2005 showed that the Milky Way is a barred spiral – its central region is bar-shaped. And the galaxy is peppered by a spheroidal halo of globular clusters.
Around 150 in total, these are gravitationally bound formations containing hundreds of thousands of very old stars. The Milky Way also has numerous satellite galaxies, some of which are merging with it, while others are having their gas stripped by its gravity. Then there’s the bubbles – or lobes – that emanate from the Galactic Centre and the galaxy’s large dark matter halo.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 113 من All About Space.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Issue 113 من All About Space.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
![LONG AGO, A LAKE ON MARS MAY HAVE BEEN SPRAWLING WITH MICROBES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/KBMk_Cfs41719993738326/LONG-AGO-A-LAKE-ON-MARS-MAY-HAVE-BEEN-SPRAWLING-WITH-MICROBES.jpg)
LONG AGO, A LAKE ON MARS MAY HAVE BEEN SPRAWLING WITH MICROBES
Curiosity discovered manganese oxide in bedrock in a Martian region that may have been a shoreline billions of years ago
![MOON TOUR HELL](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/ht0gO_mHi1719993459712/MOON-TOUR-HELL.jpg)
MOON TOUR HELL
Finding this fascinating crater isnt as hard as its name suggests...
![THIS MONTH'S PLANETS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/-7K-H52mO1719993250345/THIS-MONTHS-PLANETS.jpg)
THIS MONTH'S PLANETS
Most of the planets are tricky targets this month, but our guide will help you locate them
![UNIVERSE BEFORE TIME](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/cHFLjjJOS1719991851680/UNIVERSE-BEFORE-TIME.jpg)
UNIVERSE BEFORE TIME
Could the existence of a mirror-image cosmos before the Big Bang solve some of the biggest mysteries in astronomy?
![CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/Se3Bbyf0G1719991384386/CLIMATE-CHANGE-IN-THE-SOLAR-SYSTEM.jpg)
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Alongside Earth, our planetary neighbourhood is changing, but it’s not for the better…
![Stars give tiny planets a gravitational 'squeeze' to strip away their atmospheres](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/QMnZ5oBmH1719991224194/STARS-GIVE-TINY-PLANETS-A-GRAVITATIONAL-SQUEEZE-TO-STRIP-AWAY-THEIR-ATMOSPHERES.jpg)
Stars give tiny planets a gravitational 'squeeze' to strip away their atmospheres
A scientist has learned more about the violent processes that rip atmospheres away from planets, finding that squashing and squeezing by a parent star can contribute to this process.
![The Milky Way's halo is filled with ‘magnetic doughnuts' as wide as 100,000 light years](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/zhhazHOyf1719991166108/THE-MILKY-WAYS-HALO-IS-FILLED-WITH-MAGNETIC-DOUGHNUTS-AS-WIDE-AS-100000-LIGHT-YEARS.jpg)
The Milky Way's halo is filled with ‘magnetic doughnuts' as wide as 100,000 light years
The outer halo of the Milky Way is filled with magnetic fields that take the shape of vast doughnuts with diameters ranging from 12,000 to 100,000 light years, with the heart of our galaxy at their centre.
![The Pentagon wants the commercial space reserve to support military satellites in orbit](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/RRDjAi68P1719991027212/THE-PENTAGON-WANTS-THE-COMMERCIAL-SPACE-RESERVE-TO-SUPPORT-MILITARY-SATELLITES-IN-ORBIT.jpg)
The Pentagon wants the commercial space reserve to support military satellites in orbit
The US Department of Defense is developing a plan to use the ever-growing American commercial space industry for national security purposes.
![DOES A COSMIC 'GLITCH' IN GRAVITY CHALLENGE ALBERT EINSTEIN'S GREATEST THEORY?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/qd-Mswgsf1719990737533/DOES-A-COSMIC-GLITCH-IN-GRAVITY-CHALLENGE-ALBERT-EINSTEINS-GREATEST-THEORY.jpg)
DOES A COSMIC 'GLITCH' IN GRAVITY CHALLENGE ALBERT EINSTEIN'S GREATEST THEORY?
Gravity changes once you reach a cosmic scale
![DEEP SKY CHALLENGE : STELLAR TREASURES OF THE ARCHER AND SCORPION](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/kQkKImKfQ1719990358327/DEEP-SKY-CHALLENGE-STELLAR-TREASURES-OF-THE-ARCHER-AND-SCORPION.jpg)
DEEP SKY CHALLENGE : STELLAR TREASURES OF THE ARCHER AND SCORPION
Summer skies are stuffed full of amazing objects for your telescope - if you're prepared to stay up late