In a fascinating new study, researchers have revisited the mass of the Milky Way and determined it to be significantly smaller than previously thought. This new finding has major implications for our understanding of the evolution of our galaxy and the cosmology of the universe. The study, conducted by a team of international astronomers, has been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

This groundbreaking research challenges our understanding of the Milky Way’s mass, which has been estimated to be around 1.5 trillion solar masses. The new study suggests that the Milky Way is actually only around 800 billion solar masses – a 40% reduction! This is a result of the team’s improved modeling of the galaxy’s halo, which is an area of diffuse matter that surrounds the Milky Way. By recalculating the density of the halo, the team was able to determine a more accurate mass for the galaxy.

These findings have huge implications for our understanding of the evolution of the Milky Way and the universe as a whole. The team is now looking to apply their improved modeling to other galaxies to gain further insight into our cosmology.

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source: Phys.org