The Gaia-Eso Study has Revealed New Information about Our...

In an article from the website, Science Daily, researchers have discovered more evidence to support the theory of the Milky Way growing from the middle and spreading outwards over time. This evidence came from the current Gaia-ESO project that was created by the European Space Agency. After reading this article, I realized just how important this information could be. I want to know how the Milky Way was created, because then I will be able to find out more information about how my home, Earth, was created as well. I also really enjoy the topic of astronomy, so when I was looking for articles, this study caught my eye early on. The information is also incredibly recent, which means that scientists are learning new ways to see the universe†¦show more content†¦The thin bands are generally young with â€Å"spiral arms, young stars, giant molecular clouds†(University of Cambridge, 2014). The thick band is older since it has stars with a lower metallicity. Given the study done in Chile, there were several conclusions made. First, that the â€Å"thin† disk stars all had similar metallicity even though there ages spanned over 8 billion years. Second, that stars older than 9 billion years had a very low metallicity, and this was described as a â€Å"steep decline†(University of Cambridge, 2014). However, given these two conclusions, the study also found that there are stars that are young with a low metallicity as well, meaning that the study is not completely cut and dry, so to speak. There is no distinguishable evidence that would allow researchers to definitely conclude the existence of a thin and thick disk or the creation of the Milky Way from the inside out. The study produced generalities, and whether or not these generalities are the absolute truth, scientists are hesitant to rely solely on the results from the Gaia-Eso Survey. Granted, over the next few years, researchers are eager to use the Gaia-Eso survey to further their observations and study of the Milky Way, and they are hopeful to come to a conclusion about how the Milky Way was created, rather than just relying on theories of the Milky Way overcoming smaller galaxies. However, more importantly to the scientists involved, the study could produce a definitive