Having determined the distance from the Sun to more than two thousand pulsating stars scattered along the Milky Way, astronomers compiled the largest 3D map of our Galaxy today, which indicates its curved S-shape and provides a new look at the place of the Solar system in the stellar metropolis.
Our map shows that the disk of the Milky Way is not flat, but distorted and curved. For the first time, we were able to see this using separate objects.
Most of the modern understanding of the spiral shape and structure of the Milky Way is based on indirect measurements of celestial landmarks and conclusions arising from the study of other galaxies in the Universe. Nevertheless, the map compiled from these limited observations remains incomplete, so astronomers resort to new and new methods to clarify it.
In this case, we used the classic variable stars, Cepheids, which, like beacons on distant foggy shores, break through the clouds of interstellar dust. These “constant” stars, hundreds or even thousands of times brighter than our Sun, pulsate at regular intervals, which allows you to quite accurately determine the distance to them.
Using the data from the OGLE (Optical Experiment on Gravity Lensing) project, which doubled the number of known Cepheids inside our Galaxy, as well as other surveys, we calculated the distance to more than 2400 of them scattered across the Milky Way. Then, having determined the coordinates in three dimensions of each distant pulsating star relative to the Sun, we built a large-scale 3D model of our stellar metropolis, which clearly shows the curved shape of its disk, and also allows us to refine it.
Milky Way disk is curved
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