Milky Way a barred galaxy


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It's been suspected for a long time but now the evidence is piling up that the Milky Way is not the whirlpool galaxy we were taught it was, but a barred spiral galaxy.

Image's of both attached - the whirlpool being M51, and the barred being a simulation of what the Milky Way looks like.

Science....

Believe it or not, there's a bar in space. But you wouldn't want to order drinks there. New observations led by astronomers at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in northern Chile confirm that about 10,000 red giant stars?which are much older and brighter than our sun?orbit the center of the Milky Way, creating what looks like a large cylindrical bar (artist's impression, shown). Other stars in that region of space presumably orbit the galactic center in a similar fashion. The research also suggests that the axis of the bar is pointed almost directly at our solar system, with our sun (which sits in a spiral arm of the Milky Way between one-half and two-thirds of the distance from the galaxy's center toward its edge) lying about 20? off the bar's axis. Perhaps the results will inspire a new drink: The Red Giant.

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The research also suggests that the axis of the bar is pointed almost directly at our solar system, with our sun

oh crap its the 2012 junk all over again

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WTF? Where did either of you get world ending crap from in this article?

Part of the 2012 hystaria was that the sun/earth will be aligned with galactic center... They said specifically that in this article the Bar was pointed at our galaxy ( how they know for certain is beyond me though )

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Part of the 2012 hystaria was that the sun/earth will be aligned with galactic center... They said specifically that in this article the Bar was pointed at our galaxy ( how they know for certain is beyond me though )

If it's a bar it has to be, that's why. if it was poitned 90 degrees away for example, the center being a bar wouldn't be a theory, it would be a known fact because they would be able to see it clearly.

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Part of the 2012 hystaria was that the sun/earth will be aligned with galactic center... They said specifically that in this article the Bar was pointed at our galaxy ( how they know for certain is beyond me though )

Ah ok. That threw me off for a second.

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If it's a bar it has to be, that's why. if it was poitned 90 degrees away for example, the center being a bar wouldn't be a theory, it would be a known fact because they would be able to see it clearly.

Stop using logic in these forums :D hehe

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If it's a bar it has to be, that's why. if it was poitned 90 degrees away for example, the center being a bar wouldn't be a theory, it would be a known fact because they would be able to see it clearly.

Meant more on how do they know it's a bar, but agreed.

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