<p> A picture combining infra-red light images reveals more than a billion stars of the Milky Way in detail for the very first time. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Large structures of the Milky Way galaxy, such as gas and dust clouds where stars have formed and died, can be seen in the image. <br /><br />The picture is part of a 10-year project involving scientists from the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge and Chile, who gathered data from the two telescopes in northern and southern hemispheres. <br /><br />Nick Cross, from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Astronomy, said: “This incredible image gives us a new perspective of our galaxy, and illustrates the far-reaching discoveries we can make from large sky surveys.” Archived information from the project - known as the VISTA Data Flow System - is expected to enable scientists to carry out groundbreaking research in future years, according to a university statement. <br /><br />The image shows the plane of the Milky Way galaxy, which is often described as looking like two fried eggs back-to-back, with a flat disc in the middle. Earth is close to the edge of this disc, and the image shows a cross-section through the disc as seen from Earth’s perspective. <br /><br />These findings were presented at the National Astronomy Meeting in Manchester UK Thursday. <br /></p>
<p> A picture combining infra-red light images reveals more than a billion stars of the Milky Way in detail for the very first time. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Large structures of the Milky Way galaxy, such as gas and dust clouds where stars have formed and died, can be seen in the image. <br /><br />The picture is part of a 10-year project involving scientists from the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge and Chile, who gathered data from the two telescopes in northern and southern hemispheres. <br /><br />Nick Cross, from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Astronomy, said: “This incredible image gives us a new perspective of our galaxy, and illustrates the far-reaching discoveries we can make from large sky surveys.” Archived information from the project - known as the VISTA Data Flow System - is expected to enable scientists to carry out groundbreaking research in future years, according to a university statement. <br /><br />The image shows the plane of the Milky Way galaxy, which is often described as looking like two fried eggs back-to-back, with a flat disc in the middle. Earth is close to the edge of this disc, and the image shows a cross-section through the disc as seen from Earth’s perspective. <br /><br />These findings were presented at the National Astronomy Meeting in Manchester UK Thursday. <br /></p>
