Star-formation in the Milky Way, zoom out

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Scientists created the most accurate 3D map of star-formation regions in our Milky Way galaxy, based on data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope.

The star-formation region that is mapped out (contoured by a circle) reaches out to 4000 light-years from our Sun. The Sun is located at the centre of this region.

The star-formation map is plotted on an artist impression of our Milky Way, based on Gaia data.

CREDIT
ESA/Gaia/DPAC, S. Payne-Wardenaar, L. McCallum et al (2025)
LICENCE
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence
(content can be used under either licence)

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Animation
Space Science
Gaia
Astronomy Galaxy

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