#Milky Way galaxy map unveiled as astronomers reveal Earth is heading toward a black hole

The most precise 3-D map of our Milky Way galaxy has been revealed by astronomers.

The 3-D Milky Way map was created using data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space probe that’s been scanning the stars since 2013.

The hope is that the map will shed new light on the workings of the galaxy we call home.

It allows astronomers to measure acceleration and hopefully find out how much the universe has expanded since the dawn of time.

An impressive 1.8 billion stars feature on the map.

The ESA unveiled the map and uploaded a mesmerizing YouTube video of how stars move in the Milky Way.

The ESA said: “The new Gaia data have allowed astronomers to trace the various populations of older and younger stars out towards the very edge of our galaxy – the galactic anticenter.

“Computer models predicted that the disc of the Milky Way will grow larger with time as new stars are born.

“The new data allow us to see the relics of the 10 billion-year-old ancient disc and so determine its smaller extent compared to the Milky Way’s current disc size.”

The new 3D map was revealed just as another set of researchers claimed that Earth is closer to the black hole at the centre of our galaxy than previously thought.

The Milky Way has a huge black hole at the centre called Sagittarius A*.

Astronomers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan used their own data collected over 15 years to create another Milky Way map.

They estimated Earth’s position relative to the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.

Back in 1985, Earth was thought to be 27,700 light years away from Sagittarius A*.

The new map puts it at 25,800 light-years away.

Scientists think Earth would be pulled apart inside a black hole but there’s no need to panic just yet.

25,800 light-years away is a huge distance so Earth won’t be anywhere near Sagittarius A* for a long time.

One light year works out at about six trillion miles.