SUNSET: 
Nearby Stellar Nurseries Ride a Giant Wave
Astronomers have found a gigantic, undulating wave of stellar nurseries in our galaxy, just outside the Sun’s orbit in the spiral disk.
Baby Stars Found in Ancient Part of Our Galaxy
Ground- and space-based observations have revealed a group of stars at the head of the giant stream of gas burrowing its way through the Milky Way.
Bubbles, Heated Clouds Point to Active Past for Galactic Center
Two studies support the suspicion that our galaxy’s black hole had one or more outbursts a few million years ago.
Untangling Stellar Strings in the Milky Way
Long-lived, string-shaped groups of stars align with the Milky Way’s spiral arms — and they may provide clues to what those arms looked like long ago.
Warped Milky Way in 3D
Astronomers have used pulsating stars to trace the crooked shape of our galaxy’s disk.
Did a Dwarf Galaxy Crash into the Milky Way?
A recent study suggests the dwarf galaxy Antlia 2 had a long-ago run-in with our galaxy, rippling and warping its disk. But not everyone agrees with that scenario.
Evidence for a Dark Matter Clump in the Milky Way
There are ghosts in our galaxy’s past. Now astronomers have found a way to detect them.
Our Quiet Galaxy Used to Burst with Stars
New research shows that our quiet, middle-aged galaxy used to be quite the firecracker — a couple billion years ago it was exploding with new stars.
Astronomers Find Stars Streaming from Our Galaxy’s Biggest Cluster
Astronomers have discovered a stream of stars pulled from Omega Centauri, the largest and most brilliant globular cluster around the Milky Way — and perhaps a one-time dwarf galaxy.
The Milky Way Contains the Mass of 1.5 Trillion Suns
Astronomers are using Gaia and the Hubble Space Telescope to make the most precise measure of the Milky Way’s mass to date. The new result puts our galaxy on par with — if not more massive than — Andromeda.
The Beginning of the End for the Hyades Star Cluster
New measurements from the European Space Agency’s Gaia satellite show that the young stars of the Hyades cluster are beginning to drift apart.
The Milky Way Is Warped in More Ways Than One
Astronomers mapping out luminous stars across our galaxy's disk found that the Milky Way is warped — and multiple factors are twisting its shape.
Evidence Mounts for a Magellanic Collision
Astronomers have suspected for some time that the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds collided in the recent past. The Gaia space telescope provides striking new evidence for a head-on collision.
Some Stars Around Galaxy May Be From Elsewhere
Data from the Gaia satellite reveal 20 new high-speed stars, 13 of which appear to have originated outside of the Milky Way.
The Magellanic Clouds Might Once Have Been a Trio
The Milky Way's two largest companion galaxies may have once been a threesome — but new data from the Gaia satellite leaves the satellites' history an open question.
Pattern in Milky Way's Stars Suggests Recent Galactic Whack
An unexpected pattern in the Milky Way's disk of stars points to a recent whack from another galaxy.
Gaia Maps 1.7 Billion Stars, Widens Cosmic Census
With its second data release, the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite has redefined the way we look at our galaxy.
Amateurs Take Huge Panoramic View of the Milky Way — Without a Telescope
This is what the largest available image of the Milky Way using only off-the-shelf photographic equipment looks like.
Supergiant Star Caught Fleeing In Another Galaxy
The discovery of a runaway star in the Small Magellanic Cloud suggests that runaway stars are a common phenomenon in the universe.
Our Galaxy's Center Might Hold Thousands of Black Holes
A new study has uncovered a dozen stellar-mass black holes within 3 light-years of the supermassive black hole at our galaxy’s core — and these might be just the tip of the iceberg.
