Spitzer View of the Center of the Milky Way

Spitzer_ssc2006-02a1_1024

spitzer_ssc2006-02a1 January 10th, 2006

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech)

This dazzling infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows hundreds of thousands of stars crowded into the swirling core of our spiral Milky Way galaxy. In visible-light pictures, this region cannot be seen at all because dust lying between Earth and the galactic center blocks our view.

In this false-color picture, old and cool stars are blue, while dust features lit up by blazing hot, massive stars are shown in a reddish hue. Both bright and dark filamentary clouds can be seen, many of which harbor stellar nurseries. The plane of the Milky Way's flat disk is apparent as the main, horizontal band of clouds. The brightest white spot in the middle is the very center of the galaxy, which also marks the site of a supermassive black hole.

The region pictured here is immense, with a horizontal span of 890 light-years and a vertical span of 640 light-years. Earth is located 26,000 light-years away, out in one of the Milky Way's spiral arms. Though most of the objects seen in this image are located at the galactic center, the features above and below the galactic plane tend to lie closer to Earth.

Scientists are intrigued by the giant lobes of dust extending away from the plane of the galaxy. They believe the lobes may have been formed by winds from massive stars.

This image is a mosaic of thousands of short exposures taken by Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), and 8.0 microns (red). The entire region was imaged in less than 16 hours.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1541-ssc2006-02a1-Spitzer-View-of-the-Center-of-the-Milky-Way

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Galactic Center Milky Way
Subject - Milky Way
Galaxy > Type > Spiral

Distance

Universescale1
26,000 light years

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 3.6 µm
Green Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 4.5 µm
Orange Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 5.8 µm
Red Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 8.0 µm
Spectrum_base
Blue
Green
Orange
Red
Spitzer_ssc2006-02a1_1280
×
ID
ssc2006-02a1
Subject Category
B.5.1.1.  
Subject Name
Galactic Center, Milky Way
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech)
Release Date
2006-01-10
Lightyears
26,000
Redshift
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1541-ssc2006-02a1-Spitzer-View-of-the-Center-of-the-Milky-Way
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Distance taken from Fast Facts.
Facility
Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer
Instrument
IRAC, IRAC, IRAC, IRAC
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Orange, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Near-IR, Near-IR, Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
3600, 4500, 5800, 8000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
ssc2006-02a1.tif
Metadata Date
2012-03-21
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
26,000 light years

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