NASA's Chandra telescope reveals Milky Way's outer reaches may stretch farther than previously known

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other orbiting X-ray telescopes detected gamma-ray bursts that allowed astronomers to measure the Milky Way's spiral arms. The measurements suggest the galaxy's outer reaches may extend farther than prior estimates. Gamma-ray bursts are distant explosive events whose light can be used as distance markers for mapping galactic structure.

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