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Galactic Center Region in Near-Infrared from Hubble

Galactic Center Region in Near-Infrared from Hubble
Although best known for its visible-light images, the Hubble Space Telescope also observes over a limited range of infrared light. The galactic center is marked by the bright patch in the lower right. Along the left side are large arcs of warm gas that have been heated by clusters of bright massive stars. In addition, Hubble uncovered many more massive stars across the region. Winds and radiation from these stars create the complex structures seen in the gas throughout the image. This sweeping panorama is the sharpest infrared picture ever made of the galactic center region.

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
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -28° 55' 58.8"
  • 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 (8 kiloparsecs)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    The image of the galactic center is 32.5 arcminutes (246 light-years or 75.5 parsecs) wide.

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 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).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>NICMOS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    February 22 - June 5, 2008
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F187N (Paschen-Alpha) and F190N (Paschen-Alpha continuum)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Galactic Center
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Center of the Milky Way Galaxy
  • Release Date
    November 10, 2009
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Great Observatories Celebrate International Year of Astronomy
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, Q.D. Wang (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), and STScI

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

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