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.

Milky Way bars have been a mainstay in trick-or-treat buckets and candy bowls for decades. While not quite as old as the galaxy of the same name, the candy bar has been around for over a hundred ...