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Large infrared sky surveys in the 1990s led to some major revisions of these models, including the discovery of a large bar of stars in the middle of the Milky Way. Infrared light can penetrate through dust, so telescopes designed to pick up infrared light get better views of our dusty and crowded galactic center. In 2005, Benjamin and his colleagues used Spitzer’s infrared detectors to obtain detailed information about our galaxy’s bar, and found that it extends farther out from the center of the galaxy than previously thought. (via Formerly Elegant Milky Way Galaxy Downclassed As Cheap, Lousy “Bar Galaxy” | Beyond the Beyond from Wired.com
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