That’s because a bar-shaped collection of stars at the center of the Milky Way appears to be much younger than expected. The bar is a prominent feature of our galaxy (SN: 6/25/21).

Astronomers do not entirely agree when, precisely, the Milky Way’s bar formed. Some research suggests the bar is relatively young, a creation of the last 1 to 3 billion years.

More information: Alex Merrow et al, Did the Gaia Enceladus/Sausage merger form the Milky Way's bar?, arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2312.02318 Journal information:arXiv Provided by Universe Today ...

Today, we know that the Milky Way is indeed a barred spiral galaxy. But astronomers still haven’t gained a complete picture of the bar, making it difficult to know precisely how large it is.

The Lego Milky Way Galaxy is a rather daunting undertaking, being made up of 3,091 pieces. If you're tackling it by yourself, be prepared to spend around eight hours with it.

One hundred years ago, in 1923, the first Milky Way bar was made and sold in Minneapolis. Within a year, sales reached $800,000 — the equivalent of more than $14 million in today’s dollars.