The ages and locations of metal-rich stars in the galaxy suggest the Milky Way’s central bar finished forming just a few billion years ago.

The galaxy's stars keep a record of its history. By reading those stories, astronomers are learning more about how the Milky Way came to be—and about the galaxy we live in today.

One hundred years ago, in 1923, the first Milky Way bar was made and sold in Minneapolis. Within a year, sales reached $800,000 — the equivalent of more than $14 million in today's dollars.

Our sun and the planets that circle it are part of a galaxy called the Milky Way. Its name comes from the Greek galaxias kyklos (“milky circle”) and Latin via lactea (“milky road”). Find a remote area ...

Our galaxy’s stars keep a record of its past. By reading those stories, astronomers are learning more about how the Milky Way came to be — and about the galaxy we live in today.

The Milky Way galaxy has a large halo, a central bulge and bar, a thick disk and a thin disk. Most stars are located in the so-called thin disk of our Milky Way and follow an organized rotation ...

Scientists have uncovered the existence of a binary star system close to the black hole near the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Back in 2010, scientists spotted something shocking: a pair of gigantic, glowing lobes of gas bursting from the Milky Way’s ...

The Milky Way dominates the night sky. It appears as a hazy band of light that stretches from one horizon to the other. But this side-on view hides the galaxy’s structure and prevents astronomers ...

Scientists have spotted what appear to be two stars whipping around each other near the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

The Milky Way galaxy has a large halo, a central bulge and bar, a thick disk and a thin disk. Most stars are located in the so-called thin disk of our Milky Way and follow an organized rotation ...