These mesmerizing photos of the Milky Way have all been captured by one man from Canada who drives for hours to take pictures of the galaxy in its most beautiful state. Gary Cummins uses his knowledge and experience to “chase down” the Milky Way—traveling for hours to capture the spectacular display against a host of…

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—NASA has released a stunning new picture of our galaxy’s violent, super-energized “downtown.” It’s a composite of 370 observations over the past two decades by the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, depicting billions of stars and countless black holes in the center, or heart, of the Milky Way. A radio telescope in South Africa…

Astronomers are rethinking our origin story following discoveries about the behaviour of a similar galaxy to our Milky Way. The first detailed cross-section of another galaxy, dubbed UGC 10738,  which is akin to ours, reveals that instead of a violent collision resulting from a freak accident, the Milky Way, in fact, evolved gradually. Distinct discs…

An opalescent pendant, the Milky Way cuts a colossal path through the night sky. It is the nebula of our galaxy that has inspired a sense of awe and mystery in humankind throughout history. It was this sense of wonderment that photographer JP Metsavainio hoped to capture with an extreme long-exposure composite image of the…