WISE reveals the X-shaped bulge of our galaxy

Using a set of coadded images taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany and the University of Toronto in Canada, have provided new insights on the morphology and structure of the bulge of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. They revealed the X-shaped nature of the bulge, which could have important implications for the understanding of the formation history of our galaxy. The findings are presented in a research pape