Revised Estimate: Milky Way's Mass Lower Than Expected

A new study using data from the Gaia spacecraft has calculated a more accurate mass for the Milky Way, revealing that it is smaller than previously estimated. By analyzing the rotation curve of the galaxy, the researchers found that the Milky Way has a mass of about 200 billion solar masses, which is a fifth of previous estimates. This suggests that the galaxy has significantly less dark matter than previously thought.