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Milky Way Is Square(ish), According To New Map
KentuckyFC writes "The structure of the Milky Way is notoriously difficult to work out because we see our galaxy edge on. That means nearer clouds and stars are superimposed on more distant ones and telling them apart is hard. However, astronomers have unveiled a new map based on velocity measurements made on 870 clouds of carbon monosulphide. This has revealed a number of new features of the Milky Way including a previously unknown spiral arm, some 30,000 light years from the galactic core. But the most surprising finding is that some of our galaxy's spiral arms are straight rather than curved, giving the Milky Way a distinctly square look. That's not quite as outrageous as it sounds. Astronomers know of a number of other galaxies with straight arms, such as the pinwheel galaxy M101. So ours probably looks something like this."
God: Who is Globular Cluster which includes HE 1523? Kids: MilkyWay SquarePants! God: Enormous and luminous and massive is he! Kids: MilkyWay SquarePants! God: If astronomical nonsense be something you wish, Kids: MilkyWay SquarePants! God: Then call in SETI and tune in the dish! I'm really really sorry about this.......
Honestly, looks more like a circle/square - an Octagon to me.
But hey, I am not 100,000 light years away to make that kind of judgement.
Here is a nice photo of the Milky Way just for fun...
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
I thought it was brown, about 4 inches long, and had a swirled pattern on top of it...
Stupidity only gets you so far, then you've gotta try
The article has a picture of a galaxy with no caption. A casual reader will assume the picture is of our own galaxy, but it is actually a picture of M101.
Note that the straight areas are orthogonal to the center and then begin their rotational curve somewhat further out. This implies that the material in those arms was ejected at a greater speed than the arms closer in. It also means that those arms are younger than others since the straight areas have not had time to settle into a standard curved shape.
Pretty cool stuff, /.
(Speaking of spiral galaxies...) in the olden days, we used to call that svastika-shaped...
Evidence of a few years ago, revealed that the Milky Way was a barred spiral, http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050825.html, wonder how these two findings will mix.
Who lives in a Universe near M33 "Milky Way SquareGalaxy" Full of main sequence stars are we "Milky Way SquareGalaxy" If M class planets be something you wish "Milky Way SquareGalaxy" Then take a trip to our galactic dish "Milky Way SquareGalaxy" READY "Milky Way SquareGalaxy" "Milky Way SquareGalaxy" "Milky Way SquareGalaxeeeeeeeeee"
Great warrior...hrmph! Wars not make one great.
I think I've seen this kind of thing before... squares and octagons instead of circles and elipses. That's right, it was in Superman comics I read as a kid. We live in the Bizarro Galaxy.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
The article is describing a "barred spiral" galaxy. Not only have these been observed, but it's been theorized for some time the Milky Way is one.
welcome our new nazi galactic overlords.
Now we have real evidence: all of this is a gigantic Tetris game.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Alrighty, well this will make divvying up the galaxy into quadrants. I recommend a simple naming scheme: Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma. Umm... I'm not sure where the Neutral Zone should go.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
as long as it's not a rhombus.
www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/1/9/
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
It's a cube, not a square. If scientists go around saying it's a square shape, then everyone will think the galaxy is flat.
First off, the photo in the article is of the M101 Pinwheel Galaxy, not the Milky Way. Misleading, especially when you have to read all the way down to find out that tidbit and when the title includes 'New Map' we want to see the new map.
Secondly, we've known for quite some time that the Milky Way isn't a classic spiral. This Article gives a pretty interesting breakdown plus actual pictures.
I call it 'The Aristocrats'
My physics intuition (which unsurprisingly probably doesn't work well on things the size of galaxies) tells me that even if I magically started with a straight-line structure, it would immediately start to become curved, as the closer-to-the-center stars orbit faster than the further out ones. No? How can these straight structures exist? And yeah, now that I think of it, that goes for "bar" galaxies too. WTF?
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
No, the article is not describing a barred spiral galaxy. A barred spiral is one where there is a strong bar of stars across the galactic core (and extending well beyond it), and then "normal" spiral arms extend outward (mostly) from the two ends of the bar. The Milkyway is indeed thought to be a barred spiral.
What the article is describing is a spiral galaxy where the spiral arms themselves are straight in parts. And yes these have been observed (as shown in TFA where the Pinwheel galaxy is pictured, notice the lack of a central bar), but no it was not as far as I know theorized that the Milkyway had such a structure until now. Thus, news.
The enemies of Democracy are
To see the plot, read the paper (PDF), not the article. Figure 4 does not look like a square to me. Figure 7 has some squarish shapes drawn over the plot, but it is not highly convincing. Further, these squarish orbits appear in the inner parts of the Galaxy, not the outer shape as one might assume. Orbital shapes change with radius as different gravitational resonances dominate at different distances.
Notch will approve.
Now we know why no extresstrial civilization has made contact with us. We are the nerdy square sitting in the corner at the dance, with a pocket protector full of pencils.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
The article has a picture of a galaxy with no caption. A casual reader will assume the picture is of our own galaxy, but it is actually a picture of M101.
M101 is my own galaxy!
where is the stargate map?
Swastika, then???
OMG the ancients were right!
If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
Or maybe he is Hindu, which would make more sense.
Or celtic. It looks a bit more like the celtic 3-armed swastika than the hindu 4-armed version. At least, it looks that way if I drink enough poteen...
On a side note, did any culture make a 5-armed version?
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Pictures of our galaxy would be prohibited in Germany then, I guess.
All the cool galaxies staying way the hell away from us and all.
For conscience is the wound, and there's naught to staunch it
"Astronomers know of a number of other galaxies with straight arms, such as the pinwheel galaxy M101. So ours probably looks something like this."
Astronomers know of spirals and barred spirals. TFA says SOME of the arms are straight. There aren't many 'both' spirals. Most likely the different shapes of arms represent this galaxy's original arms and those of the galaxy it absorbed, in which our sun originated. Compared to the problems of evolving differently shaped arms, this is the simpler explanation, and testable by observation.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
Be there and be square!
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
Sooo... the Milky Way is a Na.... DAMN! Beat me to it.
Mod me down, I shall become more off-topic than you could possibly imagine.
So basically, our galaxy is rendered in a 3d skybox?
Hey God! 1999 called...
LOL
Slashdot is being disingenuous; it has already received a detailed explanation of what causes Barred Galaxies; but they, like the entire scientific community, refuse to give such explanation any publicity. May I suggest everyone turn to a past issue, (July 2004), of Scientific American; The Extraordinary Deaths of Ordinary Stars by Bruce Balick and Adam Frank, Ten page article ending with the remark: "this opens the door to a new disruptive theory" but does not mention whose.... disruptive theory. If I sound angry, I am. Slashdot have had the e-book edition for some time, have corresponded, but only to the effect of off handedly and childishly smirking at it. I challenge Slashdot to publish a review. I will not name it as that would be self publicity. But I do call them disingenuous in not accepting they have received a very detailed explanation of what causes Barred Galaxies.
What is this nonsense about galaxies?
I thought our world was carried through space on giant turtle. More specifically, the world rests on four great elephants standing on the giant turtle. The giant turtle just swims happily through space. The astrozoologists are still trying to figure out the details.
"Coffee is for closers."