Gaia Reconstructs a Top View of our Galaxy

What does our Milky Way Galaxy look like from the top? Because we are on the inside , humanity can't get an actual picture. Recently, however, just such a map has been made using location data for over a billion stars from ESA's 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 successful mission. Jigsaw Challenge: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day