Twins of Milky Way Galaxy Detected

It is for the first time that the researchers at the International Astronomical Union General Assemble in Beijing have discovered galaxies that are quite similar to our own Milky Way galaxy.  Till date the astronomers have traced a numerous galaxies ranging from emerald cut galaxies to sombrero galaxies.

The existence of the galaxy was traced using a Galaxy and Mass Assemble survey (GAMA). This compiled the data produced by the survey telescopes that helped in building a 3D map of galaxies. It was then that they learnt of the 14 galaxies similar to the Milky Way.

Of these, lead researcher Aaron Robotham of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) said that two are 'an almost exact match'.

"We've never found another galaxy system like the Milky Way before, which is not surprising considering how hard they are to spot," said Robotham, who works at the University of Western Australia and the University of St Andrews in collaboration with the ICRAR, in the release. "It's only recently become possible to do the type of analysis that lets us find similar groups. Everything had to come together at once: we needed telescopes good enough to detect not just galaxies but their faint companions, we needed to look at large sections of the sky, and most of all we needed to make sure no galaxies were missed in the survey."

Robotham's work also found that although companions like Magellanic Clouds are rare, they are found usually near a galaxy very like the Milky Way, indicating the right time to view the sky.

He concluded saying, "The galaxy we live in is perfectly typical, but the nearby Magellenic Clouds are a rare, and possibly short-lived, occurrence. We should enjoy them whilst we can, they'll only be around for a few billion more years.