Subj : Daily APOD Report To : All From : Alan Ianson Date : Tue May 13 2025 00:07:04 Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2025 May 13 A dark field surrounds a spiral galaxy with multiple arms. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Gaia Reconstructs a Top View of our Galaxy Illustration Credit: ESA, Gaia, DPAC, Stefan Payne-Wardenaar Explanation: What does our Milky Way Galaxy look like from the top? Because we are on the inside, humanity canCÇÖt get an actual picture. Recently, however, just such a map has been made using location data for over a billion stars from ESACÇÖs Gaia mission. The resulting featured illustration shows that just like many other spiral galaxies, our Milky Way has distinct spiral arms. Our Sun and most of the bright stars we see at night are in just one arm: Orion. Gaia data bolsters previous indications that our Milky Way has more than two spiral arms. Our Galaxy's center sports a prominent bar. The colors of our Galaxy's thin disk derive mostly from dark dust, bright blue stars, and red emission nebula. Although data analysis is ongoing, Gaia was deactivated in March after a succession mission. Jigsaw Challenge: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day Tomorrow's picture: big space egg __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7 * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757) .