The most detailed infrared map of the Milky Way, created using 200,000 images from the VISTA telescope at Paranal Observatory over 13 years, reveals over 1.5 billion objects. This map, part of the VVV and VVVX surveys, covers an area equivalent to 8,600 full moons and contains ten times more objects than a 2012 map. VISTA’s VIRCAM allowed unprecedented views through galactic dust, revealing stellar nurseries like the Lobster Nebula, Omega Nebula, and the dual nebulas NGC 3603 and NGC 3576. These discoveries have significantly altered our understanding of the galaxy.