Astronomers unveil most detailed map of the Milky Way

The huge infrared map comes in at 500 terabytes of data, making it the largest observational project ever carried out with an ESO telescope

Undated handout photo issued by European Southern Observatory (ESO) of collage highlights of a small selection of regions of the Milky Way imaged as part of the most detailed infrared map ever of our galaxy. (from left to right and top to bottom: NGC 3576, NGC 6357, Messier 17, NGC 6188, Messier 22 and NGC 3603). Picture: ESO/VVVX survey/PA Wire

Astronomers have published a gigantic map of the Milky Way, unveiling discoveries that have changed their view of the galaxy “forever”.

The infrared map contains more than 1.5 billion objects, including newborn stars, making it the most detailed one ever made.