Milky Way 'arm' found (50-year-old map of the Milky Way will have to be redrawn)

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | May 7, 2004

[dead]

A 50-year-old map of the Milky Way will have to be redrawn after Australian astronomers made the astonishing discovery that our spiral galaxy has a huge, outflung arm, New Scientist reports.

The vast gassy limb comprises an arc of hydrogen 77,000 light years long and several thousand light years thick, running along the Milky Way's outermost edge and sweeping around the four main arms that swirl out from the galaxy's core.

As it is not in the visible part of the light spectrum, it cannot be seen by telescope.

Astronomers at the Australia National Telescope Facility in the Sydney suburb of Epping made the discovery in a project to map the distribution of hydrogen gas across the galaxy.

Most of the Milky Way is obscured by interstellar dust, but hydrogen emits radio waves which pass through the dust clouds and which thus make it detectable by radio telescope.

"We see it [the arm] over a huge area of sky," lead astronomer Naomi McClure-Griffiths said.

She speculates the arm is a long gaseous tendril that was once joined up with another spiral limb but became detached.

The study will be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Astronomers are amazed that the feature had been overlooked, New Scientist says.

"I was absolutely flabbergasted. It was quite clearly seen in some of the previous surveys but it was never pointed out or given a name," said Tom Dame at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Massachusetts.

AFP

[cvq3842]

Interesting!

[stainlessbanner]

What are they going to name it?

Milky Way Spiral Chart

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Don't go through the galactic barrier!

[Johnny Gage]

Space ping.

[NCPAC]

Very interesting, though not shocking. Despite all of our scientific knowledge, various faiths, and continuous explorations, in the grand scheme of things I think we really have very little clue what's out there!

[R. Scott]

Who was it who said the more we learn the more we discover there is more to learn - or words to that effect?
Lately I actually wish to live a very long life - just to not miss anything.

[Conan the Librarian]

Well if it was a new Galaxy it could be called Snickers, but, as it stands, its just an off shoot. hmmmmmm maybe Milky Way Lite?

[ColoradoSlim]

"The vast gassy limb comprises an arc of hydrogen 77,000 light years long and several thousand light years thick"

Ahh.. how does a one miss something that large, so obvious, so logical, there for everyone to see. How can the natural state of the universe be overlooked and ignored for so long?

Are all astronomers liberal Democrats?

[SengirV]

Uhhhh, the map of our galaxy has been redrawn many times in the last 50 years. Did you know(really talking to everyone else I'd imagine) that our galaxy is really a barred spiral galaxy?

Everyone thinks out galaxy looks something like this - http://www.seds.org/messier/JpgSm/m74.jpg

But it really lloks something like this with a single straight "bar" going thru the center of hte galaxy - http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/ImGalaxies/m83.gif

[ColoradoSlim]

I do not know what is on the back shelf in my refrigerator. It strikes terror in my heart to even contemplate it. I have managed glimpses of horrific greenish gelatinous like substance, but have been unable to gather to courage to explore the depths. Perhaps today I delve into the abyss. Please consider these last words in my journal of exploration if for some reason I go missing.

[Sabertooth]

FYI

[r9etb]

But it really lloks something like this with a single straight "bar" going thru the center of hte galaxy

I'd be a lot more worried if it were a gay bar....

[NYer]

[longshadow]

Ahh.. how does a one miss something that large, so obvious, so logical, there for everyone to see.

As the article states, it isn't visible to optical telescopes.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

LOL!! Do I detect an H.P. Lovecraft fan? (Also someone with a refrigerator like mine?)

[PatrickHenry]

Galactic ping. Probably duplicating some earlier pings by others. Unavoidable.

[17th Miss Regt]

"The vast gassy limb comprises an arc of hydrogen 77,000 light years long and several thousand light years thick"

Ted Kennedy??

[PatrickHenry]

This discovery was predicted by Nostradamus. I can hear the pages of his works being flipped through, searching for the appropriately obscure lines.

[ColoradoSlim]

Some Astronomers don't have a sense of humor do they.

One of my best friends owns Galaxy Optics here in Colorado, He is one of the nations premier telescope mirror manufactures. He has a sense of humor. Or did you just not like the part about liberal Democrats?