Unveiling the uncharted Milky Way: Completing the galactic stellar map

By peering into the cosmic dance of stars, a team led by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has unraveled the complex structure of our Milky Way galaxy. Assuming that each observed star represents a larger population of stars sharing the same orbit, they have reconstructed the properties of these "hidden" stars, filling in gaps in the galactic disk that holds the secrets of our galaxy's past, present, and future.