Galactic research is one of the most active areas in astronomy.
It is just that out of the hundreds of research papers written about this subject every year, few attract much media attention so that the average person on the street doesn't hear much about it. In large terms, astronomers study the interstellar medium and stellar evolution in our galaxy, but discussions of the large-scale shape of the Milky Way are hampered by the fact that we can never get outside of the Milky Way to really see what it looks like. As for conspiracies, you will not find them in science, except that lack of interest and resources can sometimes be interpreted as a conspiracy when in fact there simply are not enough astronomers and resources to advance a subject very fast at a given time. But over a few decades, most subjects in astronomy get their proper due and make progress. Return to the Ask the Space Scientist main page.