Columbia University’s Dr. Kathryn Johnston explores a new view of the Milky Way at Space Talk presentation
On Sept. 7, 2023, Liberty Science Center hosted Dr. Kathryn Johnston, professor at Columbia University, for our latest Space Talk presentation: “A New View of the Milky Way.”
One of the most important tasks for astronomers, and one of the most challenging, is to map out our own galaxy: the Milky Way. This task is so challenging because we are stuck inside just one piece of the galaxy, and can only see what is relatively close to us. Imagine trying to map out your home while stuck inside your bathroom – quite the daunting task!
Using data from the revolutionary GAIA space telescope, Dr. Johnston works on just this task – figuring out not just what the galaxy is like today but how it has evolved and changed over time. GAIA is able to carefully measure the distance and current velocities of over 2 billion stars, both in our galaxy and in nearby galaxies orbiting the Milky Way (called dwarf galaxies).
Traveling far outside the galaxy using the largest planetarium in the country, Dr. Johnston showed viewers the impact one such dwarf galaxy has had on the Milky Way. This galaxy, the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy, has passed through the plane of the Milky Way several times over the last billion years, causing ripple patterns in the stars in our own galaxy.
GAIA, and Dr. Johnston, will be continuing these observations to even better understand how our galaxy has evolved over the next several years.
Click here to learn more about Liberty Science Center’s Space Talk series.
