More on the Milky Way<\/strong><\/h3>- How to see the Milky Way<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li>
- Where is Earth in the Milky Way?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li>
- Facts about the Milky Way<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/div>
![\"How](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/08\/shape-of-milky-way.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div><\/div>Making a Milky Way map<\/strong><\/h2>To make the map, the team used the European Southern Observatory\u2019s VISTA telescope, located in the pristine stargazing<\/a> location of Chile’s Atacama Desert.<\/p>Dry, clear and far from artificial light pollution<\/a>, it’s the perfect ground-based location to create a map of this kind, the largest observational project ever carried out with an ESO telescope.<\/p>![\"VISTA](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/eso-vista-3a38548-e1673274108503.jpeg\")
VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy). Credit: ESO<\/figcaption><\/figure>200,000 images were captured by ESO\u2019s VISTA to produce the infrared<\/a> Milky Way map.<\/p>VISTA’s core objective is mapping large areas of the sky, and its infrared camera VIRCAM can see through cosmic dust and gas to get to the heart of our galaxy’s biggest secrets.<\/p>
It can detect radiation from the Milky Way\u2019s many hideaway regions, giving astronomers a view of our galactic neighbourhood that would otherwise be hidden from the human eye.<\/p>![\"An](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/09\/vista-infrared-map-lobster-nebula.jpg\")
An image of the Lobster Nebula, part of an infrared map of the Milky Way captured by ESO\u2019s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy. Click to expand. Credit: ESO\/VVV Survey\/D. Minniti. Acknowledgement: Ignacio Toledo<\/figcaption><\/figure>What the VISTA Milky Way map shows<\/strong><\/h2>Consider how big and bright the full Moon appears in our sky. The VISTA Milky Way map covers an area of the sky equivalent to 8,600 full Moons.<\/p>
It contains 10 times more objects than a 2012 map released by the same team<\/a>: a wealth of celestial targets such as:<\/p>- Newborn stars, often embedded in dusty cocoons<\/li>
- Globular clusters<\/a>: ancient, dense groupings of stars<\/li>
- Failed stars known as brown dwarfs<\/li>
- Free-floating, rogue planets<\/a> that don\u2019t orbit a star<\/li><\/ul>
![\"The](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/09\/vista-infrared-map-milky-way-scaled.jpg\")
The regions of the Milky Way mapped by the VISTA Variables in the V\u00eda L\u00e1ctea (VVV) survey and its companion project, the VVV eXtended survey (VVVX). Total area covered is equivalent to 8600 full Moons. Click to expand. Credit ESO\/VVVX survey<\/figcaption><\/figure>How they did it<\/strong><\/h2>Observations to produce the infrared Milky Way map began back in 2010 and ended in the first half of 2023.<\/p>
It took a total of 420 nights and the team used VISTA to observe the same patch of sky numerous times.<\/p>
They were able to determine the locations of celestial objects, track how they move and whether their brightness changes.<\/p>![\"An](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/09\/vista-infrared-map-NGC-6188.jpg\")
An image of nebula NGC 6188 nebula and star cluster NGC 6193, part of an infrared map of the Milky Way captured by ESO\u2019s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy. Click to expand. Credit: ESO\/VVVX survey<\/figcaption><\/figure>
<\/figure><\/div><\/div>Making a Milky Way map<\/strong><\/h2>To make the map, the team used the European Southern Observatory\u2019s VISTA telescope, located in the pristine stargazing<\/a> location of Chile’s Atacama Desert.<\/p>Dry, clear and far from artificial light pollution<\/a>, it’s the perfect ground-based location to create a map of this kind, the largest observational project ever carried out with an ESO telescope.<\/p>VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy). Credit: ESO<\/figcaption><\/figure>200,000 images were captured by ESO\u2019s VISTA to produce the infrared<\/a> Milky Way map.<\/p>VISTA’s core objective is mapping large areas of the sky, and its infrared camera VIRCAM can see through cosmic dust and gas to get to the heart of our galaxy’s biggest secrets.<\/p>
It can detect radiation from the Milky Way\u2019s many hideaway regions, giving astronomers a view of our galactic neighbourhood that would otherwise be hidden from the human eye.<\/p>An image of the Lobster Nebula, part of an infrared map of the Milky Way captured by ESO\u2019s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy. Click to expand. Credit: ESO\/VVV Survey\/D. Minniti. Acknowledgement: Ignacio Toledo<\/figcaption><\/figure>What the VISTA Milky Way map shows<\/strong><\/h2>Consider how big and bright the full Moon appears in our sky. The VISTA Milky Way map covers an area of the sky equivalent to 8,600 full Moons.<\/p>
It contains 10 times more objects than a 2012 map released by the same team<\/a>: a wealth of celestial targets such as:<\/p>- Newborn stars, often embedded in dusty cocoons<\/li>
- Globular clusters<\/a>: ancient, dense groupings of stars<\/li>
- Failed stars known as brown dwarfs<\/li>
- Free-floating, rogue planets<\/a> that don\u2019t orbit a star<\/li><\/ul>
The regions of the Milky Way mapped by the VISTA Variables in the V\u00eda L\u00e1ctea (VVV) survey and its companion project, the VVV eXtended survey (VVVX). Total area covered is equivalent to 8600 full Moons. Click to expand. Credit ESO\/VVVX survey<\/figcaption><\/figure>How they did it<\/strong><\/h2>Observations to produce the infrared Milky Way map began back in 2010 and ended in the first half of 2023.<\/p>
It took a total of 420 nights and the team used VISTA to observe the same patch of sky numerous times.<\/p>
They were able to determine the locations of celestial objects, track how they move and whether their brightness changes.<\/p>An image of nebula NGC 6188 nebula and star cluster NGC 6193, part of an infrared map of the Milky Way captured by ESO\u2019s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy. Click to expand. Credit: ESO\/VVVX survey<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Dry, clear and far from artificial light pollution<\/a>, it’s the perfect ground-based location to create a map of this kind, the largest observational project ever carried out with an ESO telescope.<\/p> 200,000 images were captured by ESO\u2019s VISTA to produce the infrared<\/a> Milky Way map.<\/p> VISTA’s core objective is mapping large areas of the sky, and its infrared camera VIRCAM can see through cosmic dust and gas to get to the heart of our galaxy’s biggest secrets.<\/p> It can detect radiation from the Milky Way\u2019s many hideaway regions, giving astronomers a view of our galactic neighbourhood that would otherwise be hidden from the human eye.<\/p> Consider how big and bright the full Moon appears in our sky. The VISTA Milky Way map covers an area of the sky equivalent to 8,600 full Moons.<\/p> It contains 10 times more objects than a 2012 map released by the same team<\/a>: a wealth of celestial targets such as:<\/p> Observations to produce the infrared Milky Way map began back in 2010 and ended in the first half of 2023.<\/p> It took a total of 420 nights and the team used VISTA to observe the same patch of sky numerous times.<\/p> They were able to determine the locations of celestial objects, track how they move and whether their brightness changes.<\/p>What the VISTA Milky Way map shows<\/strong><\/h2>
How they did it<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"An](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/09\/vista-infrared-map-m22.jpg\")