The dispute was resolved when Edwin Hubble's measurements of Cepheid variable stars proved Andromeda was located far outside the Milky Way. ![]() On the other side of the debate, Curtis did not dispute Shapley's claims of a far larger Milky Way, he did however argue that there were large island universes (galaxies) such as Andromeda, that lay beyond the boundaries of the Milky Way. He also claimed that "spiral nebulae" such as Andromeda were a part of the Milky Way. On one side of the debate, Shapley believed the Milky Way was much larger than previous estimates and that we weren't at the center. "The Great Debate" in 1920 saw astronomers Herber Curtis and Harlow Shapley argue the scale of the universe and the prospect of "island universes" (galaxies), according to the National Academy of Sciences (opens in new tab). We are constantly building on our wealth of knowledge of the Milky Way, though up until relatively recently astronomers believed that all the stars in the sky belonged to our galaxy. (Image credit: Yang Hanwen and Zhou Zezhen ) (opens in new tab) The Andromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way. Milky Way galaxy type and the great debate of 1920 For example in China it is called "Silver River" and in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa it's called the "Backbone of Night". In Greek mythology, this milky band appeared because the goddess Hera sprayed milk across the sky.Īround the world, the Milky Way is known by different names. Why is our galaxy called the Milky Way?Īccording to the American Museum of Natural History (opens in new tab) (AMNH), our galactic home is called the Milky Way after its apparent milky white appearance as it stretches across the night sky. In 2022, we imaged this glutton at the core of our galaxy for the very first time, through an innovative technique allowing us to view the shadow of the black hole. ![]() About 4 million times the mass of the sun, this beast consumes anything that strays too close, gorging on an ample supply of stellar material enabling it to grow into a giant. Lying at the very heart of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*. Our window into the universe, this milky white band of stars, dust and gas is where our galaxy gets its name. On a clear night, void of light pollution, we can catch a glimpse of the bright lights of the galactic city streaking across the night sky.
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