Our Galaxy Is Bigger Than Once Thought

New Map Shows Milky Way Is Broader And More Dense, Making It Roughly Equal To Andromeda

(AP)  Take that, Andromeda! For decades, astronomers thought when it came to the major galaxies in Earth's cosmic neighborhood, our Milky Way was a weak sister to the larger Andromeda. Not anymore.

The Milky Way is considerably larger, bulkier and spinning faster than astronomers once thought, Andromeda's equal.

Scientists mapped the Milky Way in a more detailed, three-dimensional way and found that it's 15 percent larger in breadth. More important, it's denser, with 50 percent more mass, which is like weight. The new findings were presented Monday at the American Astronomical Society's convention in Long Beach, Calif.

That difference means a lot, said study author Mark Reid of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. The slight 5-foot-5, 140-pound astrophysicist said it's the cosmic equivalent of him suddenly bulking up to the size of a 6-foot-3, 210-pound NFL linebacker.

"Previously we thought Andromeda was dominant, and that we were the little sister of Andromeda," Reid said. "But now it's more like we're fraternal twins."

That's not necessarily good news. A bigger Milky Way means that it could be crashing violently into the neighboring Andromeda galaxy sooner than predicted — though still billions of years from now.

Reid and his colleagues used a large system of 10 radio telescope antennas to measure the brightest newborn stars in the galaxy at different times in Earth's orbit around the sun. They made a map of those stars, not just in the locations where they were first seen, but an additional dimension of time — something Reid said hasn't been done before.

With that, Reid was able to determine the speed at which the spiral-shaped Milky Way is spinning around its center. That speed — about 568,000 miles per hour — is faster than the 492,000 mph that scientists had been using for decades. That's about a 15 percent jump in spiral speed. The old number was based on less accurate measurements and this is based on actual observations, Reid said.

Once the speed of the galaxy's spin was determined, complex formulas that end up cubing the speed determined the mass of all the dark matter in the Milky Way. And the dark matter — the stuff we can't see — is by far the heaviest stuff in the universe. So that means the Milky Way is about one-and-a-half times the mass had astronomers previously calculated.

The paper makes sense, but isn't the final word on the size of the Milky Way, said Mark Morris, an astrophysicist at the University of California Los Angeles, who wasn't part of the study.

Being bigger means the gravity between the Milky Way and Andromeda is stronger.

So the long-forecast collision between the neighboring galaxies is likely to happen sooner and less likely to be a glancing blow, Reid said.

But don't worry. That's at least 2 to 3 billion years away, he said.

[mugaluv]

Did you ever hear a theory that all of universe, the galaxies, stars, and planets are the cells of a super being and some are becoming cancers, like the planet earth?! Humans are the toxins that attack and are killing this particular cell. Makes as much sense as evolution. These cells may have evolved into man, but it was only at the direction of God, and the only hope for everlasting life is Jesus Christ.

[mugaluv]

I don''''t know about the rest of you but I was losing sleep over this whole thing now I can sleep well.
Posted by apple2pie

Bravo! Sarcastic and funny.

[mugaluv]

"Sorry - there is no God. Billions of years, thousands of gods and cultures. Gods make us feel safe. Love life and everyone in it!!" Posted by ChurScientNY

I do love everyone, but I know my love is miniscule compared to that of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. Unless you have experienced God''s love, you will never know. I''m sorry for all those who are lost and fall short of his glory. There is no greater love than that love we receive through Jesus Christ, my LORD.

[ibzjem]

I am a religious nut, but I never understood why people think that science goes against religion, I think science proves the existance of a creator, no matter what you want to call him/her and think they are

Posted by Talaan77 at 11:12 AM : Jan 07, 2009

God the creator or alternatively an intelligent designer (which is a ridiculous idea) is supernatural. Has to be and is by definition. Scientific methods can not study, test, or infer supernatural events or beings. If you want to think a designer exists, then you just have to believe one does. I''ve heard in my own church that science is founded to disprove God''s existence. This bothers me greatly because it''s not true, but religious zealots want it to be so they can combat scientific discoveries. I don''t think science and religion are at odds because I know that they do not have a common purpose.

[churscientny]

Sorry - there is no God. Billions of years, thousands of gods and cultures. Gods make us feel safe. Love life and everyone in it!!

Rama, Rama, Krishna, Krishna

(just kidding about the rama thing)

[mugaluv]

I''m so glad that God resides in the hearts of men, not in their brains. I agree with the person who said that science proves the existence of God; where do you think your scientific brains came from? I love science, I read scientific articles and watch scientific programs, but nothing I have ever seen has disproved to me the existence of God. In the contrary, it definitely has confirmed it. As far as I am concerned, love for fellow man is not a product of evolution. Treating others as you would have them treat you is a gift created and given to us by God, not man. Man is inherently evil and will meet their demise, but the souls of believers in God and Jesus Christ our Lord will reside with him forever.

PS: There is no other way - I pitty you Oprah.

[centerfall94]

What''s with all the religious nuts posting on this thread? It has nothing to do with you. Go to church and get faith healed and don''t worry about us poor godless folk of science.

[irmcvet971]

That''''s science! It''''s a self correcting system based upon discovery, testing, and inference. When something is wrong, the scientific community corrects it. It''''s not perfect and any scientist worth a grain of salt will say we still have a lot to learn.

Posted by ibzjem at 04:53 PM : Jan 06, 2009

Very true! Things that were scientifically acceptable just a few short years ago have been corrected several times already. The BASIC belief may be the same but that belief has evolved with the infusion of new evidence and new research! That''s why scientist can not accept or even think of accepting the idea of Intelligent Design. To believe that you have to accept something without proof and believe it to be. Goes against EVERYTHING about honest basic science.

[irmcvet971]

You religious nuts are well, crazy. You love bashing on science while proping up books. Well, if you hate science so much, stop wearing clothes. Stop taking medicine. Stop driving your car. Stop watching your TV. Stop using your computer to tell everyone that science is BS. You really sound stupid.

Posted by elpaulito at 07:02 AM : Jan 07, 2009

You never mentioned that ALL the things you listed, all the things that have moved us forward as a people and produced a better life for all... ALL, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE THINGS were OPPOSED by Religious Nuts when they came out!! EVERY ADVANCEMENT, NO exceptions, in Social Justice has also been opposed by the Religious Reich!

[talaan77]

You religious nuts are well, crazy. You love bashing on science while proping up books

I am a religious nut, but I never understood why people think that science goes against religion, I think science proves the existance of a creator, no matter what you want to call him/her and think they are