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Compass and Scale File for Galactic Center
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.17h 45m 36.0s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-28° 55' 58.8"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Sagittarius
- DistanceDistanceThe 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 (8 kiloparsecs)
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData 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.This image was composited from Hubble and Spitzer data. The Hubble component was from the HST proposal 11120: Q.D. Wang (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), S. Stolovy (Caltech), C. Lang (University of Iowa), A. Cotera (SETI Institute), M. Muno (Caltech), M. Morris (University of California, Los Angeles), D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), S. Ramirez (Caltech), and G. Schneider (University of Arizona). The Spitzer Space Telescope data were courtesy of NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/California Institute of Technology). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>NICMOS and SST>IRAC
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.September 3, 2004 and September 15, 2005 (IRAC), and February 22 - June 5, 2008 (NICMOS)
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.NICMOS IRAC 8.0 microns, 5.8 microns, 4.5 microns, and 3.6 microns
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Galactic Center
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Center of the Milky Way Galaxy
- Release DateJanuary 5, 2009
- Science ReleaseHubble Views Galactic Core in Unprecedented New Detail
- Credit
Red: NICMOS + IRAC 8.0 microns Orange: IRAC 5.8 microns Green: IRAC 4.5 microns Blue: IRAC 3.6 microns
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Details
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
