The mass of the Milky Way? Scientists make 'most accurate' estimation to date
-
Loading... - Zach Jackson
- 25 Apr 2023
- 68 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
Using the largest dataset yet, they estimated our galaxy has a mass of roughly 805 billion solar masses.
A team of scientists from China used data from the European Space Agency's GAIA observatory to estimate the mass of the Milky Way.
According to their calculations, our galaxy has a mass of roughly 805 billion solar masses. Though that is an unfathomably large size to process, it is actually substantially smaller than an estimation made by scientists in the U.S. back in 2019.
Estimating the mass of the Milky Way
Measuring the mass of our Milky Way is impossible with current technologies, though scientists have been able to make estimations with increasing accuracy in recent years.
Scientists from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences detailed the methodology behind their new estimation in a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal. The authors used a larger dataset — consisting of 260,000 stars — than had ever been used for a study of this type.
A large part of that data came from ESA's GAIA observatory. GAIA was launched in 2013 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Its mission is to create a precise three-dimensional map of astronomical objects throughout the Milky Way. As such, its data serves as a comprehensive chart of massive swathes of our galaxy.
Using their large dataset, the scientists conducted a survey of the Milky Way and measured its rotation curve. The rotation curve refers to the orbital speed of an astronomical object in relation to its radial distance from the galaxy's center. They also aimed to account for dark matter in their calculations. In a press statement, the researchers said the new estimation is the most accurate measurement of the rotation curve of the Milky Way to date. Read More…
