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Milky Way Center (MeerKAT and Webb), Labeled

Processed data from the MeerKAT radio telescope shows the plane of the Milky Way galaxy, with a graphic pullout highlighting a much smaller region on the right, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared light observations. At the center of the MeerKAT image, a bright area is labeled Sagittarius A*. The images are labeled MeerKAT (radio) and Webb (infrared). A compass graphic shows North pointing toward the upper left corner and East pointing to the lower left. Each telescope image has a scale bar line. Webb’s reads 6 light-years and MeerKAT’s reads 145 light-years. At the lower left of the MeerKAT image is a spectral Index with color gradation from orange on the left, through cyan to blue on the right. Numbers on the spectral index read from left to right -1.8, -1, 0, 1.

Labeling, compass arrows, and scale bars provide context for these MeerKAT and James Webb Space Telescope images. The star-forming region Sagittarius C, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, is about 200 light-years from the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*.

Huge vertical filamentary structures in the MeerKAT radio data echo those Webb captured on a smaller scale, in infrared, in a blue-green hydrogen cloud. Astronomers think the strong magnetic fields in the heart of the galaxy are shaping the filaments.

The spectral index at the lower left shows how color was assigned to the radio data to create the image. On the negative end, there is non-thermal emission, stimulated by electrons spiraling around magnetic field lines. On the positive side, thermal emission is coming from hot, ionized plasma.

For Webb, color is assigned by shifting the infrared spectrum to visible light colors. The shortest infrared wavelengths are bluer, and the longer wavelengths appear more red. 

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    17:44:40.30
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -29:28:14.93
  • 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 lightyears
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    This image is about 2.25 degrees across (1,000 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.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 4147 (S. Crowe).

    Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

    The 1.28 GHz MeerKat galactic center mosaic was created by Heywood et al. (2022)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    Webb>NIRCam SARAO>MeerKAT
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    Webb> 22 Sept 2023
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    NIRCam> F162M, F360M, F405N, F470N MeerKAT> 1.28 GHz
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Sagittarius A* (A-star) and Sagittarius C
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Galactic center
  • Release Date
    April 2, 2025
  • Science Release
    NASA Webb Explores Effect of Strong Magnetic Fields on Star Formation
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, SARAO, Samuel Crowe (UVA), John Bally (CU), Ruben Fedriani (IAA-CSIC), Ian Heywood (Oxford)

Downloads

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Processed data from the MeerKAT radio telescope shows the plane of the Milky Way galaxy, with a graphic pullout highlighting a much smaller region on the right, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared light observations. At the center of the MeerKAT image, a bright area is labeled Sagittarius A*. The images are labeled MeerKAT (radio) and Webb (infrared). A compass graphic shows North pointing toward the upper left corner and East pointing to the lower left. Each telescope image has a scale bar line. Webb’s reads 6 light-years and MeerKAT’s reads 145 light-years. At the lower left of the MeerKAT image is a spectral Index with color gradation from orange on the left, through cyan to blue on the right. Numbers on the spectral index read from left to right -1.8, -1, 0, 1.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

The Webb image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample specific 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: F162M, Cyan: F405N, Orange: F360M, Red: F470N The MeerKAT image uses the spectral index to colorize the radio continuum image centered at 1.28 GHz.

Related Images & Videos

Processed data collected by the MeerKAT radio telescope shows the plane of the Milky Way galaxy, with a graphic pullout highlighting a much smaller region on the right, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared light observations. The MeerKAT image is colored in blue, cyan, and yellow, with a very bright white-yellow center that indicates the location of the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole. Painterly bubbles of various sizes, clouds, and vertical brushstroke-like streaks make up the radio image. The Webb inset shows stars and gas clouds in red, with an arching cloud of bright cyan that contains many straight, needle-like features that appear more crystalline than cloudy.

Milky Way Center (MeerKAT and Webb)

An image of the Milky Way captured by the MeerKAT radio telescope array puts the James Webb Space Telescope’s image of the Sagittarius C region in context. The MeerKAT image spans 1,000 light-years, while the Webb image covers 44 light-years. At the center of the MeerKAT image...

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, SARAO, Samuel Crowe (UVA), John Bally (CU), Ruben Fedriani (IAA-CSIC), Ian Heywood (Oxford)

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