Submillimetre and infrared view of the Galactic Centre

This is a colour composite image of the central region of our Milky Way galaxy, about 26 000 light years from Earth. Giant clouds of gas and dust are shown in blue, as detected by the LABOCA instrument on the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope at submillimetre wavelengths (870 micron). The image also contains near-infrared data from the 2MASS project at K-band (in red), H-band (in green), and J-band (in blue). The image shows a region approximately 100 light-years wide.

Credit:

ESO/APEX/2MASS/A. Eckart et al.

About the Image

Id:eso0841a
Type:Observation
Release date:18 November 2008
Related releases:eso0841
Size:3000 x 3000 px

About the Object

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

Image Formats

Large JPEG
2.2 MB
Screensize JPEG
472.1 KB

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Coordinates

Position (RA):17 45 36.60
Position (Dec):-29° 0' 6.51"
Field of view:16.67 x 16.67 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 1.6° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Infrared
J
1.235 μm Other
N/A
Millimeter
Submillimetre
870 μmAtacama Pathfinder Experiment
LABOCA
Infrared
H
1.662 μm Other
N/A
Infrared
K
2.159 μm Other
N/A