Wide-field view of the centre of the Milky Way

This visible light wide-field view shows the rich star clouds in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer) in the direction of the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. The entire image is filled with vast numbers of stars — but far more remain hidden behind clouds of dust and are only revealed in infrared images. This view was created from photographs in red and blue light and form part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The field of view is approximately 3.5 degrees x 3.6 degrees.

Credit:

ESO and Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin and S. Guisard (www.eso.org/~sguisard)

About the Image

Id:eso0949l
Type:Observation
Release date:11 December 2009, 11:30
Related releases:eso2212, eso2208-eht-mw, eso2119, eso2006, eso1835, eso1636, eso0949, eso0921
Size:12670 x 12954 px

About the Object

Name:Milky Way Galactic Centre
Type:Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core
Distance:25000 light years
Constellation:Sagittarius
Category:Stars

Image Formats

Large JPEG
53.9 MB
Screensize JPEG
683.1 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x768
538.0 KB
1280x1024
923.0 KB
1600x1200
1.3 MB
1920x1200
1.6 MB
2048x1536
2.2 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):17 45 6.75
Position (Dec):-28° 49' 49.34"
Field of view:212.91 x 217.68 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 1.4° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Optical
B
Other
N/A
Optical
I
775 nmDigitized Sky Survey 2
N/A
Optical
R
675 nmDigitized Sky Survey 2
N/A
Optical
I
675 nmDigitized Sky Survey 2
N/A
Optical
G
Other
N/A
Optical
R
675 nmDigitized Sky Survey 2
N/A
Optical
R
Other
N/A