Astronomers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have created the largest image of the Milky Way. Made of 46 billion pixels, it is hosted in an online tool here that allows users to zoom in on different sections of the image and get a closer look. The mosaic is made up of 268 individual images that were collected to study variable objects of medium brightness. This study found over 50,000 new variable objects, which can include planets passing in front of stars and systems where stars orbit each other, anything that can cause the brightness of an object to vary over time. This 5 year project can now be enjoyed by the public, so check it out!
Katie Nelson
Geospatial Ninja
(303) 718-7163
Katie@apollomapping.com
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