Measured distance within the Milky Way gives clues to what our galaxy looks like

illustration of Milky Way

FROM THE INSIDE OUT  The best images of the Milky Way are artist’s impressions like this one, as it’s difficult to map the galaxy from our position inside it. But new measurements will give us more direct clues to what the Milky Way actually looks like.

R. Hurt, ESO, JPL-Caltech/NASA

For the first time, astronomers have directly measured the distance to a spot clear across the galaxy.