MILKY WAY SHROUDED IN HYDROGEN

The first detection of the halo of hydrogen around our Galaxy has been made. Similar clouds have been seen around other galaxies, but astronomers have struggled to detect our own halo, as it is so diffuse when viewed from the inside. Instead, researchers used spectral data from 732,225 galaxies taken as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Embedded in these spectra were signals indicating a shroud of hydrogen surrounding our Galaxy.