2026-09-25 Inspired by the Milky Way

An art competition for schools – celebrating a spectacular new map of our Galaxy

*Competition! Create art inspired by the Milky Way. Image credits: Amanda Smith, Institute of Astronomy (Cambridge)*

Something special is happening this winter. On 2 December 2026, the European Space Agency (ESA) will unveil the most detailed map of our home Galaxy, the Milky Way, ever made.

The map is the work of Gaia, a European space telescope that spent more than ten years scanning the sky. Gaia pinpointed more than two billion stars and other objects: where each one is, how far away it is, what colour it is, and how it is moving. Astronomers all over the world will explore this map for decades – tracing how our Galaxy formed, discovering planets around other stars, and answering questions no one has even thought to ask yet.

To celebrate, we are inviting schools across Europe and our network partners in South Africa to take part in an art competition: create art inspired by the Milky Way.

Find all the details on this competition on this page.