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Four-Panel Zoom into the Galactic Center

Four-Panel Zoom into the Galactic Center
This four-panel graphic zooms into the Hubble Space Telescope view of the galactic core. The first panel shows a wide view of the Milky Way in visible light. The second panel, which zooms into the boxed area in the first panel, shows interstellar dust obscuring much of the view of the core. The third panel zooms in yet again, but the view shifts to infrared light that penetrates the dust and exposes the core. Finally, the fourth panel is a close-up of the galactic core as seen in infrared by the Hubble Space Telescope. The locator mark in the middle designates the galaxy's nucleus, which is home to a central, supermassive black hole.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    17h 45m 36.0s
  • 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.
    27,000 light-years (8,000 parsecs)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    -28° 55' 58.8"

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 data were taken from proposals 13049, 12663, and 12182 PI: T. Do (UCLA) and 11671 PI: A. Ghez (UCLA). The science team comprises T. Do, A. Ghez, and M. Morris (UCLA), R. Schodel (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucia), J. Lu (University of Hawaii), W. Clarkson (University of Michigan), D. Merritt (RIT), B. Hansen and S. Yelda (UCLA), J. Bullock (University of California, Irvine), J. Anderson (STScI), L. Meyer, E. Mills, and N. McCrady (UCLA), and J.-U. Pott (Max Planck Insititue for Astronomy, Heidelberg).
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Milky Way Center
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Center of the Milky Way Galaxy
  • Release Date
    March 31, 2016
  • Science Release
    Hubble’s Journey to the Center of Our Galaxy
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI); Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, A. Fujii, Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), STScI/AURA, Palomar/Caltech, UKSTU/AAO, NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech), the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), T. Do and A. Ghez (UCLA), and V. Bajaj (STScI)

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Last Updated
Feb 24, 2025
Contact
Media

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

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