Galaxy Map

@galaxy_map
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The first accurate and detailed maps of the Milky Way and ways to visualize them, including VR.
Websitehttps://kevinjardine.dev
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Galaxy MapFeb 17
Just noticed that Messier 99 is a "Fiddler Crab" galaxy a bit like my model with two very different arms. Credit: ESO VLT.
Show threadGalaxy MapFeb 15
Latest version of my model based on the above tweaks.
Galaxy MapFeb 15

I'm continuing to tweak my model of the Milky Way based on catalogs of objects in or near the galactic plane. I found a great molecular cloud catalog described in a 2017 paper.

https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017ApJ...834...57M/abstract

Although distance estimates derived from gas velocity are not as reliable as parallax, we are still dependent on them because there are very few maser parallax measurements from the southern hemisphere.

This shows the molecular cloud data and my model out to 12 kpc. Galactic centre down.

Galaxy MapFeb 14
My wife loves #chocolates and #boardgames so for Valentine's Day I got her a box of Belgian pralines and we played a round of Star Realms. Blowing up each other's galactic bases may not have *quite* fit the theme of the day but was fun. I squeeked to victory with 11 authority points remaining.
Show threadGalaxy MapFeb 11
Slight tweak.
Galaxy MapFeb 10
My latest Milky Way model.
Show threadGalaxy MapFeb 5
For reference, here is my full model rotated so that the galactic centre is down. The dashed circle shows the outer limit of most Gaia data in the galactic plane.
Show threadGalaxy MapFeb 5

Just for fun, here is the above image with my two-armed model of the Milky Way: Carina arm (green) and Norma arm (blue).

Of course there is no consensus on the structure of the Milky Way so this is just my model.

Galaxy MapFeb 4

One of the best ways to map the Milky Way is to combine multiple data sets covering different parts of the galactic plane.

This image has masers (blue), estimated bar and ring positions, a new catalog of about 500 HII regions with Gaia-derived distances (red), star density from a new OB star catalog and part of figure 6 from the OB star paper showing individual stars with low error distances.

Show threadGalaxy MapFeb 2

The dashed line shows a circle with radius 6 kpc. Almost all Gaia data in the galactic plane appears within this circle. Orange is the inner ring, red the bar, and blue the two spiral arms. I sometimes call this a fiddler crab model since one arm is much larger than the other. (Image: NOAA)

As always I should note that there is no consensus on the structure of the Milky Way. This is my personal model.