Galaxy Map
@galaxymap.bsky.social
The first accurate and detailed maps of the Milky Way and ways to promote and visualize them (including VR).
Website: https://kevinjardine.dev
Tip jar: https://tiptopjar.com/kevinjardine
Also follow me on @galaxy_map@mastodon.social
Website: https://kevinjardine.dev
Tip jar: https://tiptopjar.com/kevinjardine
Also follow me on @galaxy_map@mastodon.social
I'd like to talk to people organizing VR field trips for schools, seniors or other groups. Any suggestions?
November 22, 2025 at 9:27 AM
I'd like to talk to people organizing VR field trips for schools, seniors or other groups. Any suggestions?
It would be fun to work out what the sky would have looked like 66 million years ago, on the day before the asteroid wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs. I think quite different. Has anyone already done that?
It's Friday, and apparently bluesky is ready for this fun revelation:
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
November 22, 2025 at 2:06 AM
It would be fun to work out what the sky would have looked like 66 million years ago, on the day before the asteroid wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs. I think quite different. Has anyone already done that?
‘Now we need to choose our friends very, very wisely, so when we come to America, we come to Canada now.’
Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch
Clever phrasing. When I was growing up in Canada, the country to our south was the "United States".
"America" was the continents.
Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch
Clever phrasing. When I was growing up in Canada, the country to our south was the "United States".
"America" was the continents.
November 21, 2025 at 10:42 PM
‘Now we need to choose our friends very, very wisely, so when we come to America, we come to Canada now.’
Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch
Clever phrasing. When I was growing up in Canada, the country to our south was the "United States".
"America" was the continents.
Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch
Clever phrasing. When I was growing up in Canada, the country to our south was the "United States".
"America" was the continents.
Well OK, I can sort of understand the excitement of being able to visit real environments in VR, but the astronomy worlds I can create in VR are way more interesting than my home office.
youtu.be/ybdWf6P3FKE?...
youtu.be/ybdWf6P3FKE?...
The Quest 3 Just Unlocked Something Wild
YouTube video by BMFVR
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Well OK, I can sort of understand the excitement of being able to visit real environments in VR, but the astronomy worlds I can create in VR are way more interesting than my home office.
youtu.be/ybdWf6P3FKE?...
youtu.be/ybdWf6P3FKE?...
Reposted by Galaxy Map
Webb has revealed for the first time that there are four shells of dust around this pair of Wolf-Rayet stars, which are known as Apep.
Read more 👉 https://esawebb.org/images/wolf-rayet-apep/
🔭
Read more 👉 https://esawebb.org/images/wolf-rayet-apep/
🔭
November 19, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Webb has revealed for the first time that there are four shells of dust around this pair of Wolf-Rayet stars, which are known as Apep.
Read more 👉 https://esawebb.org/images/wolf-rayet-apep/
🔭
Read more 👉 https://esawebb.org/images/wolf-rayet-apep/
🔭
Reposted by Galaxy Map
Our Director @cmundell.esa.int is “proud that the collaboration between our Chinese colleagues & our ESA teams has gone so well and that we’re on the right track to launch in spring 2026 [...] Smile is the next big step in revealing how our planet’s magnetic shield protects us from the solar wind.”
November 20, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Our Director @cmundell.esa.int is “proud that the collaboration between our Chinese colleagues & our ESA teams has gone so well and that we’re on the right track to launch in spring 2026 [...] Smile is the next big step in revealing how our planet’s magnetic shield protects us from the solar wind.”
I've done a revised version of my O-type star poster which uses Bailer-Jones distances where available. This eliminated 7 stars that are now further than 1250 pc but added 11 more.
png: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
png: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
November 20, 2025 at 12:10 PM
I've done a revised version of my O-type star poster which uses Bailer-Jones distances where available. This eliminated 7 stars that are now further than 1250 pc but added 11 more.
png: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
png: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
I don't know how I missed this but I see that the IAU Working Group on Star Names (@iau-wgsn.bsky.social) is still active and has released a number of new names this year. As a cartographer of course I love the idea of giving more names to visible stars that I can use on maps!
November 19, 2025 at 10:24 PM
I don't know how I missed this but I see that the IAU Working Group on Star Names (@iau-wgsn.bsky.social) is still active and has released a number of new names this year. As a cartographer of course I love the idea of giving more names to visible stars that I can use on maps!
Another example of how my favourite VR game, Walkabout Mini Golf, is evolving into a more general social space. As well as some of the most inventive and beautifully realized locations in VR, it has treasure hunts, slingshot games, meeting areas and now chess.
www.uploadvr.com/walkabout-mi...
www.uploadvr.com/walkabout-mi...
Walkabout's Latest Attraction Adds Playable Chess
Chess is playable in Walkabout Mini Golf starting this Wednesday.
www.uploadvr.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Another example of how my favourite VR game, Walkabout Mini Golf, is evolving into a more general social space. As well as some of the most inventive and beautifully realized locations in VR, it has treasure hunts, slingshot games, meeting areas and now chess.
www.uploadvr.com/walkabout-mi...
www.uploadvr.com/walkabout-mi...
Following up on my O-type star map, I found 11 additional stars that have Bailer-Jones distances less than 1250 parsecs, O-type spectra in SIMBAD but do not *appear* to be in the O-type catalog I used for the map. Perhaps because they have separate Gaia IDs but the star system is already on the map?
November 19, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Following up on my O-type star map, I found 11 additional stars that have Bailer-Jones distances less than 1250 parsecs, O-type spectra in SIMBAD but do not *appear* to be in the O-type catalog I used for the map. Perhaps because they have separate Gaia IDs but the star system is already on the map?
Reposted by Galaxy Map
A new 3D map of interstellar dust with Gaia! 🌌
A new study, led by Marie Barbillon, exploited the spectroscopic parametriser from Gaia DR3 to build a high-resolution extinction map! It extends up to 4 kpc from the Sun, with a finer version focused on the Local Bubble area.
#astro #galactic
A new study, led by Marie Barbillon, exploited the spectroscopic parametriser from Gaia DR3 to build a high-resolution extinction map! It extends up to 4 kpc from the Sun, with a finer version focused on the Local Bubble area.
#astro #galactic
November 18, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Stunning look at the Chamaeleon dark cloud, which is located below the Coalsack near the Sco OB2 hot star association.
#apod 2025-11-19
Chamaeleon Dark Nebulas
Image Credit:
Xinran Li &
Houbo Zhao
Web page: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251119.html
Chamaeleon Dark Nebulas
Image Credit:
Xinran Li &
Houbo Zhao
Web page: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251119.html
November 19, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Stunning look at the Chamaeleon dark cloud, which is located below the Coalsack near the Sco OB2 hot star association.
Interesting discussion with @astrochara.bsky.social. Quoting it here for people interested in galactic structure.
Indeed…I wonder if it could be that the distribution of OB stars within even a continuous spiral arm are naturally patchy, and that’s why we’re seeing them as disconnected structures here.
November 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Interesting discussion with @astrochara.bsky.social. Quoting it here for people interested in galactic structure.
I was looking through Gaia papers for the first time in a few months and I see the long-awaited third Alma paper on OB stars has finally arrived. Looking forward to looking at the expanded hot star catalog.
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025MNRA...
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025MNRA...
The Alma catalogue of OB stars ─ III. A cross-match with Gaia DR3 and an extension based on new spectral classifications
We present the third installment of the Alma Luminous Star catalogue, aimed at creating the most comprehensive and clean sample of Galactic massive stars. This update extends the sample by adding appr...
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu
November 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM
I was looking through Gaia papers for the first time in a few months and I see the long-awaited third Alma paper on OB stars has finally arrived. Looking forward to looking at the expanded hot star catalog.
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025MNRA...
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025MNRA...
Adding a flying saucer to my Star Central VR world to take larger tour groups (up to 15-20 people) around the Milky Way.
November 17, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Adding a flying saucer to my Star Central VR world to take larger tour groups (up to 15-20 people) around the Milky Way.
If you have ever wondered what the interstellar medium looks like in 3D, visit the Star Central VR world and walk around the 3D Local Interstellar Medium display, which shows dust clouds, ionized hydrogen, hot star density and star clusters out to 500 parsecs.
horizon.meta.com/world/775774...
horizon.meta.com/world/775774...
November 16, 2025 at 11:11 AM
If you have ever wondered what the interstellar medium looks like in 3D, visit the Star Central VR world and walk around the 3D Local Interstellar Medium display, which shows dust clouds, ionized hydrogen, hot star density and star clusters out to 500 parsecs.
horizon.meta.com/world/775774...
horizon.meta.com/world/775774...
I've continued to add improvements to the O-type star map. Just added a line to highlight the interarm gap. The spiral structure is not very clear in Gaia but at least there is a clear gap between the local and inner galaxy.
png file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
png file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
November 16, 2025 at 10:23 AM
I've continued to add improvements to the O-type star map. Just added a line to highlight the interarm gap. The spiral structure is not very clear in Gaia but at least there is a clear gap between the local and inner galaxy.
png file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
png file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
The O-type star map is now in the cartography room in my Star Central VR world.
November 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
The O-type star map is now in the cartography room in my Star Central VR world.
Just a reminder that no one pays me to do these maps and I've decided (so far anyway) not to put them behind a Patreon pay wall. If you like them, give me a tip here: tiptopjar.com/kevinjardine
November 15, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Just a reminder that no one pays me to do these maps and I've decided (so far anyway) not to put them behind a Patreon pay wall. If you like them, give me a tip here: tiptopjar.com/kevinjardine
I've created a new map of all known O-type stars out to 1250 parsecs. These extremely rare and ultra hot stars play an important role in ionizing hydrogen gas and reshaping dust clouds across the Milky Way.
png file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
png file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
November 15, 2025 at 10:35 AM
I've created a new map of all known O-type stars out to 1250 parsecs. These extremely rare and ultra hot stars play an important role in ionizing hydrogen gas and reshaping dust clouds across the Milky Way.
png file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
png file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
pdf file: gruze.org/ha_grid/o_st...
I am working on an O-type star map. The detailed Edenhofer dust clouds and this year the new ionized hydrogen grid allows for more detailed and realistic maps so I tried a different style for this map. Comments welcome.
November 14, 2025 at 11:17 AM
I am working on an O-type star map. The detailed Edenhofer dust clouds and this year the new ionized hydrogen grid allows for more detailed and realistic maps so I tried a different style for this map. Comments welcome.
Reposted by Galaxy Map
![[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.]
JANET:
Ugh...
LIZ:
What's up?
JANET:
I am so bored of cooking peas!
LIZ:
Have you tried...
AI peas?
JANET:
AI peas?
LIZ:
They're peas with AI!
[Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI].
LIZ:
Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas
JANET:
What
LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines]
Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas?
[Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it]
LIZ:
Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine
[Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas]
LIZ:
With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas!
JANET:
What
LIZ:
Shut up
LIZ:
Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow
From opening the bag of peas
to boiling the peas
to eating the peas
To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means.
JANET:
Is it really necessary to-
LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]:
THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET
[Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan:
AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas.
[Ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreiayqa37f7kik7l7s7fbtfp2sir5ckb662ry2lylinyjrfa2rkvvka@jpeg)
For some reason I've never had a Facebook profile for Galaxy Map. As I'm working to promote my VR worlds, it makes sense to have one. Please follow it if you happen to have a Facebook account.
m.facebook.com/615833478151...
m.facebook.com/615833478151...
Log in or sign up to view
See posts, photos and more on Facebook.
m.facebook.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:18 AM
For some reason I've never had a Facebook profile for Galaxy Map. As I'm working to promote my VR worlds, it makes sense to have one. Please follow it if you happen to have a Facebook account.
m.facebook.com/615833478151...
m.facebook.com/615833478151...
Always good to see astronomy people excited about VR. 😆
The new Steam Frame looks very promising for demos. If the graphics chip in the headset is powerful enough, it could run #GaiaSkyVR without the need of a PC. It already runs well on the Steam Deck, so there is hope. We'll need to wait for the specs to come out.
@steampowered.com #SteamFrame
@steampowered.com #SteamFrame
November 13, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Always good to see astronomy people excited about VR. 😆
Reposted by Galaxy Map
🆕 Astronomers have wanted to spot a 'coronal mass ejection', or CME, on a star other than our own for decades. And now they have! 👇
📣 For the first time ever, scientists have confirmed seeing a giant explosion on a star other than our own!
Our XMM-Newton observatory and the LOFAR telescope contributed to making this long sought-after discovery 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭 🧪 ☄️ ☀️ 1/
Our XMM-Newton observatory and the LOFAR telescope contributed to making this long sought-after discovery 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭 🧪 ☄️ ☀️ 1/
November 12, 2025 at 4:49 PM
🆕 Astronomers have wanted to spot a 'coronal mass ejection', or CME, on a star other than our own for decades. And now they have! 👇