Galaxy Map
@galaxymap.bsky.social
The first accurate and detailed maps of the Milky Way and ways to promote and visualize them (including VR).
Website: https://kevinjardine.dev
Tip jar: https://tiptopjar.com/kevinjardine
Also follow me on @[email protected]
Website: https://kevinjardine.dev
Tip jar: https://tiptopjar.com/kevinjardine
Also follow me on @[email protected]
Great! I fixed my latest hot star poster to label these.
December 12, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Great! I fixed my latest hot star poster to label these.
Added a few more labels.
December 12, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Added a few more labels.
Here is a very preliminary reworking of my 1 kpc map using the new Quintana association names. I only used the associations where they seem to be connected with hot star concentrations. They provide names for almost all of the concentrations except for the smaller one around Messier 6.
December 12, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Here is a very preliminary reworking of my 1 kpc map using the new Quintana association names. I only used the associations where they seem to be connected with hot star concentrations. They provide names for almost all of the concentrations except for the smaller one around Messier 6.
Following up on the new Quintana paper on OB associations. There are many hot star concentrations in Gaia DR3 that do not have names, and the Quintana paper seems to help with that! Here is my 1 kpc poster overlaid by the new Quintana map.
I do notice that the Quintana map is missing Mon OB1.
I do notice that the Quintana map is missing Mon OB1.
December 12, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Following up on the new Quintana paper on OB associations. There are many hot star concentrations in Gaia DR3 that do not have names, and the Quintana paper seems to help with that! Here is my 1 kpc poster overlaid by the new Quintana map.
I do notice that the Quintana map is missing Mon OB1.
I do notice that the Quintana map is missing Mon OB1.
Flipped with negative velocity up.
December 2, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Flipped with negative velocity up.
And the full HI4PI velocity data with positive velocity up.
December 2, 2025 at 10:37 AM
And the full HI4PI velocity data with positive velocity up.
I'm best known these days for visualizing Gaia Mission data but I've also tried my hand at visualizing HI velocity data. Here, for example, is a slice of HI4PI. I'd love to see more papers about HI4PI.
December 2, 2025 at 10:05 AM
I'm best known these days for visualizing Gaia Mission data but I've also tried my hand at visualizing HI velocity data. Here, for example, is a slice of HI4PI. I'd love to see more papers about HI4PI.
Ah, here's a picture showing all three together. Credit: not sure but it appears to be on the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy's website.
December 1, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Ah, here's a picture showing all three together. Credit: not sure but it appears to be on the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy's website.
If you ever happen to be in Heidelberg I encourage you to make the pilgrimage to the site of Max Wolf's old observatory on the Königstuhl (King's Seat) hill. Such a lovely area and also the location of the Haus der Astronomie (pictured) and the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy.
December 1, 2025 at 10:31 PM
If you ever happen to be in Heidelberg I encourage you to make the pilgrimage to the site of Max Wolf's old observatory on the Königstuhl (King's Seat) hill. Such a lovely area and also the location of the Haus der Astronomie (pictured) and the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy.
If Star Trek wanted to refer to more local structures within the Local Bubble it could refer to the Hyades, the Coma open cluster, the Ursa Major moving group or the Tucana-Horologium association. But sadly so far as I know it never has.
November 28, 2025 at 3:16 PM
If Star Trek wanted to refer to more local structures within the Local Bubble it could refer to the Hyades, the Coma open cluster, the Ursa Major moving group or the Tucana-Horologium association. But sadly so far as I know it never has.
If I flip and rotate I get something that looks a little closer to my model. It would be better if the Hubble image was not so cropped but I hope you get the idea. The point is that real galaxies are rarely as tidy as astronomer's models (or artistic images!).
November 21, 2025 at 4:07 PM
If I flip and rotate I get something that looks a little closer to my model. It would be better if the Hubble image was not so cropped but I hope you get the idea. The point is that real galaxies are rarely as tidy as astronomer's models (or artistic images!).
I just found this Hubble image of NGC 685, which also is a bit of a fiddler crab galaxy with a small narrow arm on the left and a sprawling mess on the right.
Add a ring around the bar and you would have something that looks a little like my model.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee, F. Belfiore
Add a ring around the bar and you would have something that looks a little like my model.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee, F. Belfiore
November 21, 2025 at 3:44 PM
I just found this Hubble image of NGC 685, which also is a bit of a fiddler crab galaxy with a small narrow arm on the left and a sprawling mess on the right.
Add a ring around the bar and you would have something that looks a little like my model.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee, F. Belfiore
Add a ring around the bar and you would have something that looks a little like my model.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee, F. Belfiore
I've done a revised version of my O-type star poster which uses Bailer-Jones distances where available. This eliminated 7 stars that are now further than 1250 pc but added 11 more.
png: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
png: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
November 20, 2025 at 12:10 PM
I've done a revised version of my O-type star poster which uses Bailer-Jones distances where available. This eliminated 7 stars that are now further than 1250 pc but added 11 more.
png: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
png: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
On the cats. The cat-loving KASC apparently stands for Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium.
November 20, 2025 at 10:04 AM
On the cats. The cat-loving KASC apparently stands for Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium.
For reference they are:
CD-45 4447 O7.5V
BD-16 4818 O8.5V
HD 278942 O9.5-B0
HD 37366 O9.5IV
HD 166546 O9.5IV
HD 164816 O9.5V+B0V
V* SZ Cam O9.5Vn
HD 46847 O9.7III
HD 46660 O9V
BD+61 2559 O9V
HD 93683 O9V+B0V
CD-45 4447 O7.5V
BD-16 4818 O8.5V
HD 278942 O9.5-B0
HD 37366 O9.5IV
HD 166546 O9.5IV
HD 164816 O9.5V+B0V
V* SZ Cam O9.5Vn
HD 46847 O9.7III
HD 46660 O9V
BD+61 2559 O9V
HD 93683 O9V+B0V
November 19, 2025 at 4:35 PM
For reference they are:
CD-45 4447 O7.5V
BD-16 4818 O8.5V
HD 278942 O9.5-B0
HD 37366 O9.5IV
HD 166546 O9.5IV
HD 164816 O9.5V+B0V
V* SZ Cam O9.5Vn
HD 46847 O9.7III
HD 46660 O9V
BD+61 2559 O9V
HD 93683 O9V+B0V
CD-45 4447 O7.5V
BD-16 4818 O8.5V
HD 278942 O9.5-B0
HD 37366 O9.5IV
HD 166546 O9.5IV
HD 164816 O9.5V+B0V
V* SZ Cam O9.5Vn
HD 46847 O9.7III
HD 46660 O9V
BD+61 2559 O9V
HD 93683 O9V+B0V
Given all the complex inconsistent evidence we have about the structure of the Milky Way, a simpler model might be best. So I advocate a two arm model with a larger chaotic Perseus arm that includes the local and outer structures, a more coherent Centaurus arm, and a prominent ring around the bar.
November 19, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Given all the complex inconsistent evidence we have about the structure of the Milky Way, a simpler model might be best. So I advocate a two arm model with a larger chaotic Perseus arm that includes the local and outer structures, a more coherent Centaurus arm, and a prominent ring around the bar.
Despite all of the uncertainty, I admit that I have not entirely avoided spiral structure speculation myself. Those who have followed me for a while may have seen my "fiddler crab" model of the Milky Way, which I use as my icon.
November 19, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Despite all of the uncertainty, I admit that I have not entirely avoided spiral structure speculation myself. Those who have followed me for a while may have seen my "fiddler crab" model of the Milky Way, which I use as my icon.
At first glance the density map looks very familiar (galactic core to the right). So perhaps not a lot new but I will take a look.
November 18, 2025 at 2:25 PM
At first glance the density map looks very familiar (galactic core to the right). So perhaps not a lot new but I will take a look.
The jump drive is now installed on the flying saucer so I can use it to take larger tour groups around the Milky Way.
November 18, 2025 at 12:49 PM
The jump drive is now installed on the flying saucer so I can use it to take larger tour groups around the Milky Way.
Inside the flying saucer while viewing Star Central on my mobile phone.
November 17, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Inside the flying saucer while viewing Star Central on my mobile phone.
Boarding area set up for the galactic tours.
November 17, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Boarding area set up for the galactic tours.
Adding a flying saucer to my Star Central VR world to take larger tour groups (up to 15-20 people) around the Milky Way.
November 17, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Adding a flying saucer to my Star Central VR world to take larger tour groups (up to 15-20 people) around the Milky Way.
If you have ever wondered what the interstellar medium looks like in 3D, visit the Star Central VR world and walk around the 3D Local Interstellar Medium display, which shows dust clouds, ionized hydrogen, hot star density and star clusters out to 500 parsecs.
horizon.meta.com/world/775774...
horizon.meta.com/world/775774...
November 16, 2025 at 11:11 AM
If you have ever wondered what the interstellar medium looks like in 3D, visit the Star Central VR world and walk around the 3D Local Interstellar Medium display, which shows dust clouds, ionized hydrogen, hot star density and star clusters out to 500 parsecs.
horizon.meta.com/world/775774...
horizon.meta.com/world/775774...