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Compass Image for Milky Way Bulge

Compass Image for Milky Way Bulge

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    17:58:57.92
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -29:12:11.35
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Sagittarius
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    26,000 light-years from Earth
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is 2.2 arcmin across (about 16 light-years)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    The HST observations include those from programs 11664 (T. Brown) and 12586 (K. Sahu)
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    WFC3/UVIS/IR
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    October 2009 - September 2010; October 2011 - October 2012
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F110W, F160W, F814W, F555W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Milky Way Bulge
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Dense field of stars from the core of the Milky Way
  • Release Date
    January 11, 2018
  • Science Release
    Hubble Probes the Archeology of Our Milky Way’s Ancient Hub
  • Credits
    NASA and ESA

Downloads

  • Full Res, 3336 × 2823
    tif (21.42 MB)
  • Full Res, 3336 × 2823
    png (17.74 MB)
  • 2000 × 1692
    png (8.19 MB)
  • 1000 × 846
    png (2.38 MB)
Compass Image for Milky Way Bulge
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3/IR and WFC3/UVIS instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample various wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F555W Green: F814W Red: F110W +F160W

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 14, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov