Galactic Center
Description
The Galactic Center and the surrounding Central Molecular Zone comprise the most active star formation region in the Milky Way. This 2 x 1 degree field was imaged at 20 cm (purple) with the NRAO Very Large Array, tracing H II regions that are illuminated by hot, massive stars, supernova remnants, and synchrotron emission. Emission at 1.1 mm (orange) was observed with the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory and highlights cold (20-30 K) dust associated with molecular gas. Some of this material will form stars within in the next few million years; the remainder will be blown away. The diffuse cyan and colored star images are from the Spitzer Space Observatory's Infrared Array Camera. The cyan is primarily emission from stars, the point sources, and from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the diffuse component.
Creator
Legacy Astronomical Images
Rights
NRAO/AUI/NSF does not hold full copyright for this image. Contact the archivist for details.
Type
Legacy Astronomical Image
Object Name
Galactic Center
Investigators
Adam Ginsburg (Univ of Colorado - Boulder), John Bally (Univ of Colorado - Boulder), Farhad Yusef-Zadeh (Northwestern), Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey team, GLIMPSE II team
Telescope
Very Large Array (VLA)
Observation Date
2004-00-00
Type of Observation
continuum
Band
L
Wavelength
20 cm
Frequency
1.4 GHz
Center of Image
RA 17:46:57.000, Dec: 28:33:31.000
Field of View
2.000000 x 1.000000 degrees
Notes
Contact the archivist for a high resolution tif of this image.
Series
Galactic Sources Series
Unit
Star Forming Regions Unit
Citation
Legacy Astronomical Images, “Galactic Center,” NRAO/AUI Archives, accessed August 17, 2024, https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/33484.