The centre of the Milky Way*

The central parts of our Galaxy, the Milky Way, as observed in the near-infrared with the NACO instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope. By following the motions of the most central stars over more than 16 years, astronomers were able to determine the mass of the supermassive black hole that lurks there.

Credit:

ESO/S. Gillessen et al.

About the Image

Id:eso0846a
Type:Observation
Release date:10 December 2008
Related releases:eso2017, eso1835, eso0846
Size:900 x 900 px

About the Object

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

Image Formats

Large JPEG
250.6 KB
Screensize JPEG
224.0 KB

Wallpapers

1024x768
224.4 KB
1280x1024
320.6 KB
1600x1200
405.5 KB
1920x1200
430.8 KB
2048x1536
566.7 KB

Coordinates

Position (RA):17 45 40.09
Position (Dec):-29° 0' 23.56"
Field of view:0.41 x 0.41 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.3° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandTelescope
Infrared
K
Very Large Telescope
NACO
Infrared
H
Very Large Telescope
NACO
Infrared
I
Very Large Telescope
NACO