2010 & 2011

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2012: Shadow of the Dark Rift › View larger Thick dust clouds block our night-time view of the Milky Way, creating what is sometimes called the Dark Rift.

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012-alignment.html

2012: Shadow of the Dark Rift

World's most powerful laser to tear apart the vacuum of space

A Laser to Give the Universe a Hernia?

A Nebula With More Than 14,000 Stars

This star-forming region, known as the Carina Nebula, is located in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, some 7,500 light years from Earth.

The Most Accurate Simulation of the Universe to Date

'Bolshoi' supercomputer simulation provides new benchmark for cosmological studies The Bolshoi supercomputer simulation , the most accurate and detailed large cosmological simulation run to date, gives physicists and astronomers a powerful new tool for understanding such cosmic mysteries as galaxy formation, dark matter, and dark energy. The simulation traces the evolution of the large-scale structure of the Universe, including the evolution and distribution of the dark matter halos in which galaxies coalesced and grew.

Aug. 27, 2011 — For almost 20 years astrophysicists have been trying to recreate the formation of spiral galaxies such as our Milky Way realistically. Now astrophysicists from the University of Zurich present the world's first realistic simulation of the formation of our home galaxy together with astronomers from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

First glimpse into birth of the Milky Way

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110825090227.htm

This remarkable picture from the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows one of the most perfect geometrical forms created in space. It captures the formation of an unusual pre-planetary nebula, known as IRAS 23166+1655, around the star LL Pegasi (also known as AFGL 3068) in the constellation of Pegasus (the Winged Horse).