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                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2025 May 13
    A dark field surrounds a spiral galaxy with multiple arms. Please see
               the explanation for more detailed information.

                 Gaia Reconstructs a Top View of our Galaxy
        Illustration Credit: ESA, Gaia, DPAC, Stefan Payne-Wardenaar

   Explanation: What does our Milky Way Galaxy look like from the top?
   Because we are on the inside, humanity canCÇÖt get an actual picture.
   Recently, however, just such a map has been made using location data
   for over a billion stars from ESACÇÖs Gaia mission. The resulting
   featured illustration shows that just like many other spiral galaxies,
   our Milky Way has distinct spiral arms. Our Sun and most of the bright
   stars we see at night are in just one arm: Orion. Gaia data bolsters
   previous indications that our Milky Way has more than two spiral arms.
   Our Galaxy's center sports a prominent bar. The colors of our Galaxy's
   thin disk derive mostly from dark dust, bright blue stars, and red
   emission nebula. Although data analysis is ongoing, Gaia was
   deactivated in March after a succession mission.

                Jigsaw Challenge: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
                      Tomorrow's picture: big space egg
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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