Question: How do you know what the galaxy looks like

Julian Onions answered on 13 Nov 2014:

We can work out our own galaxy by measuring where stars are, and then make a map of it, or a model in a computer. Then we can view it from outside.
We can’t see all the stars, but we can see enough to be fairly sure.

There is a new satellite now taking data called Gaia that will give us a much better picture of our galaxy and where all the stars are in it. One of our five scientists works on this – see if you can find out who!