ESO telescope captures the most detailed infrared map of the Milky Way
Astronomers created the most detailed infrared map of the Milky Way using the VISTA telescope, revealing over 1.5 billion objects and hidden regions, resulting in over 300 scientific publications.
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Astronomers have unveiled the most detailed infrared map of the Milky Way, created using the European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope. This extensive project, which spanned over 13 years and involved 500 terabytes of data, includes more than 1.5 billion objects, significantly surpassing previous maps. The VISTA telescope, located at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, utilized its infrared camera, VIRCAM, to penetrate the dust and gas of the galaxy, revealing hidden regions and allowing for the observation of newborn stars and globular clusters. The dataset, equivalent to 8600 full moons, comprises 200,000 images and provides a 3D view of the inner Milky Way, previously obscured by dust. The project, known as the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey, has already resulted in over 300 scientific publications. Future enhancements to the VISTA telescope and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) are planned, which will enable further exploration of the gathered data and potentially lead to numerous new discoveries.
- The VISTA telescope has produced the most detailed infrared map of the Milky Way to date.
- The project involved over 13 years of observations and 500 terabytes of data.
- The map includes more than 1.5 billion objects, revealing previously hidden regions of the galaxy.
- The VVV survey has led to over 300 scientific articles and will continue to be explored for decades.
- Future upgrades to VISTA and VLT will enhance the capability for further discoveries.
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ESO telescope captures the most detailed infrared map ever of our Milky Way
Astronomers created the most detailed infrared map of the Milky Way using the VISTA telescope, revealing over 1.5 billion objects and leading to over 300 scientific publications over 13 years.
- Many users express amazement at the scale and detail of the dataset, with some highlighting personal connections to the researchers involved.
- There are requests for interactive tools and visualizations to better understand the data and the galaxy's structure.
- Some commenters ponder the implications of the discoveries and the limitations of human exploration in the vast universe.
- Questions arise regarding the accuracy and realism of the data representation, particularly in relation to space simulations.
- Users share links to additional resources for exploring the dataset and its findings.
15 commentshttps://alasky.cds.unistra.fr/VISTA/VVV_DR4/VISTA-VVV-DR4-Co...
>The VVV and VVVX surveys have already led to more than 300 scientific articles.
While they do say what objects the survey included, the article seems to lack many examples of discoveries.
For those following this what do you consider the greatest discoveries and highlights?
This is of course hard ... the distance (3rd number) is not one that is very precise.
But still, I always have a hard time picturing what our galaxy looks like when looking at 2D pics.
What proportion of the celestial vault or sphere is that? Napkin calcul appreciated :)
someday
the search engine unfortunately does not appear to properly support multiple keywords with AND/OR logic
It is like we are given a glimpse of this insane and terrifyingly beautiful expanse with the knowledge that that's all it will ever amount to. Like a child looking through the glass window at the limitless world outside without any hopes of reaching it while knowing that she will never be able to get out of the house.
A lot of people. Looks like a movie credits roll.
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ESO telescope captures the most detailed infrared map ever of our Milky Way
Astronomers created the most detailed infrared map of the Milky Way using the VISTA telescope, revealing over 1.5 billion objects and leading to over 300 scientific publications over 13 years.