Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial
Physics have produced the first detailed three-dimensional map of the stars
that form the inner regions of our Milky Way, using publicly available VVV
survey data from the science archive facility at ESO. They find a box/peanut
shaped bulge with an elongated bar and a prominent X-structure, which had been
hinted at in previous studies. This indicates that the Milky Way was originally
a pure disk of stars, which then formed a thin bar, before buckling into the
box/peanut shape seen today. The new map can be used for more detailed studies
of the dynamics and evolution of our Milky Way.