|
|
Article: The new Milky Way galaxy.(SCOPE ON THE SKIES)
- Article from:
- Science Scope
- Article date:
- February 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 National Science Teachers Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
When students are asked about the Milky Way galaxy and where our solar system is located, most will describe it as a spiral-shaped galaxy with the Sun located on one of the spiral arms. While this is essentially correct, data obtained with the Spitzer telescope have provided new insight into the shape of our galaxy and given us a newer model of the Milky Way galaxy to consider (see January 2008 column).
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Galaxies have many shapes and sizes but are classified into three major types by appearance or shape. The Milky Way is an example of a spiral galaxy, however, the Spitzer data suggest that our galaxy is a type of spiral known as a ...