The Radcliffe Wave, a 9,000 light-year-long structure, is oscillating through the Milky Way.
The Milky Way galaxy is far from static. One striking example of its dynamic nature is the discovery of the Radcliffe Wave, a massive, 9,000 light-year-long structure made of star-forming gas. Located just 500 light-years from the Solar System at its nearest point, the Radcliffe Wave was first identified in 2018 using data from the Gaia spacecraft, with findings published in 2020. But recent research has unveiled something even more intriguing: this enormous structure is not just moving in its orbit around the galactic center, it’s also oscillating like a wave.
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