The Milky Way may be larger than previously thought and has a more complex radial structure. This is the result of research conducted by scientists from Yunnan University (China) and several international research institutes, recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Planets, stars, and galaxies beyond the universe showcase the beauty of space exploration. (Illustration: theweek.in).
In the study, scientists used data from spectroscopic research to construct the radial density distribution of stars from the inner to the outer regions of the Milky Way, which allowed them to assess the size of the Milky Way’s radius. The results show that the structure in the outer region follows the principle of exponential distribution, while the inner region remains nearly flat.
According to researcher Lian Jianhui from Yunnan University, this finding contrasts with the long-standing hypothesis of a disk structure with a single exponential density distribution of the Milky Way. Lian stated that this research could impact the assessment of important physical properties of the Milky Way. Based on previous hypotheses, it was estimated that the radius containing half of the Milky Way’s light is approximately 10,000 light-years. This radius is particularly small compared to galaxies of similar mass, thus categorizing the Milky Way as a dwarf galaxy.
However, according to researcher Lian, based on the complex density distribution indicated by the study, the aforementioned radius is actually 19,000 light-years, nearly equivalent to the radius of nearby galaxies with comparable mass. This suggests that in terms of size, the Milky Way is a typical disk galaxy. This research contributes to a better understanding of the general structure and evolutionary processes of the Milky Way.
