100 years ago, the Milky Way was displaced from the centre of the Universe

O disco da Via Láctea fotografado no deserto do Atacama, no Chile

O disco da Via Láctea fotografado no deserto do Atacama, no Chile. À esquerda, a pequena “nuvem” é a Grande Nuvem de Magalhães, galáxia satélite visível no hemisfério celeste austral, a 160 mil anos-luz. Créditos: A. Ghizzi Panizza/ESO

Precisely a century ago, the New York Times newspaper announced that the Andromeda nebula was after all another “island universe”, so big or even bigger than the Milky Way. The Universe had just increased tenfold.

Article by Nelson Nunes, José Pedro Mimoso and Sérgio Pereira, in partnership with National Geographic Portugal.

Full article (in Portuguese) and on the National Geographic Portugal website.