Milky Way
Latest about Milky Way
'Mind-blowing' James Webb telescope images reveal 19 spiral galaxies in the greatest detail ever seen
By Isobel Whitcomb published
New James Webb telescope images reveal 19 Milky Way-like spiral galaxies in more intricate detail than has ever been seen before.
Space photo of the week: Observatory, or alien planet? Boggle your mind with this 360-degree image
By Jamie Carter published
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which could change astronomy forever when it comes online this August, looks like a planet all its own in this surreal new photo.
Space photo of the week: Hubble spies a dwarf galaxy
By Jamie Carter published
The irregular dwarf galaxy UGC 8091 is likely a building block of ‘grand design’ galaxies like our Milky Way.
How many times has the sun traveled around the Milky Way?
By Harry Baker published
Our solar system has been orbiting the Milky Way's black hole heart for 4.6 billion years. But it is hard to pin down exactly how many trips around the galaxy our sun has made during that time.
James Webb telescope discovers dark secret of 'The Brick,' a gas cloud flipping assumptions about how stars are born
By Robert Lea published
Peering deep into 'The Brick,' a dark, chaotic gas cloud at the heart of the Milky Way, the James Webb Space Telescope uncovered secrets that could shake up theories of star formation.
James Webb telescope reveals 'nursery' of 500,000 stars in the chaotic heart of the Milky Way
By Jamie Carter published
A dazzling new James Webb telescope image of the region near the Milky Way's central black hole reveals thousands of newborn stars among the "most extreme cosmic environment" in the galaxy.
Spiral galaxies like the Milky Way are surprisingly rare. Astronomers may finally know why.
By Ben Turner published
The Supergalactic Plane we are located in doesn't have many spiral galaxies like the Milky Way. Astronomers think they finally know why galaxies like ours are so rare.
James Webb telescope uncovers mysterious Milky Way 'twin' in the early universe
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
A Milky Way doppleganger discovered in the early universe suggests some key physical ingredient is missing from cosmological models.
Mysterious 'fountain of youth' near Milky Way's central black hole is full of newborn stars that shouldn't exist
By Briley Lewis published
New James Webb Space Telescope observations might be able to explain why clusters of young stars keep turning up near the Milky Way’s central black hole.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.