The Reason Behind the Incomplete Images of the Milky Way: A NASA Specialist Illuminates the Absolute Factors

In the vast expanse of the cosmos, one celestial body remains elusive to our cameras - the Milky Way, our very own galaxy. This intriguing fact was recently explained by Alexandra Doten, a former NASA space analyst, on TikTok.

The Milky Way, a barred spiral arm galaxy as determined by mapping the stars within it, cannot be captured in its entirety from Earth. This is due to our unique location within the galaxy, riding on one of its spiral arms.

Comparing the Milky Way to a Ferris wheel, we are like passengers stuck on our ride, unable to see the entire structure from our vantage point. A spacecraft would have to travel up or down from the disk of the Milky Way and travel incredibly far to capture images of the galaxy, a feat that lies beyond our reach for the foreseeable future.

Despite this limitation, we can still gain insights into the Milky Way. Most of the objects visible when looking up at the night sky are stars within our own galaxy, which can be mapped. We can see a good portion of the Milky Way in the night sky and use this to build an impression of what it looks like.

Moreover, we can work out what is going on within the Milky Way, including looking for collisions with other galaxies. Observing other galaxies similar to our own also helps in understanding the Milky Way. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way can be seen, and we can study its behaviour to learn more about our galaxy.

One significant milestone in our understanding of the Milky Way was the first image of the whole Earth from space, taken in 1972 by astronaut Ron Evans or Harrison Schmitt on Apollo 17. This iconic "Blue Marble" image marked a turning point in our perspective of our planet and sparked a renewed interest in understanding our place in the cosmos.

However, the first time an Apollo mission's trajectory made a photograph of the Milky Way possible was on Apollo 17. Yet, no space probe has yet produced a complete image of the entire Milky Way galaxy. Current missions, including powerful telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, capture deep and detailed images of parts of the galaxy and beyond but not a full, comprehensive image of the entire Milky Way.

As we continue to explore and learn about the cosmos, the elusive beauty of the Milky Way remains an enigma, a celestial body that we can observe but never truly capture in its entirety. We may never see the Milky Way from far enough away to take a true photograph of its beauty, and certainly not within our lifetimes or many generations to come.

An earlier version of this article was first published in August 2024.

The Reason Behind the Incomplete Images of the Milky Way: A NASA Specialist Illuminates the Absolute Factors