Hubble image archive
Compass and Scale Image for Milky Way Center
This annotated, infrared image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the scale of the galactic core. The locator mark in the middle designates the galaxy's nucleus, which is home to a central, supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A* (pronounced Sagittarius A-star). Credits...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2016
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2016-11-3718-image
This annotated, infrared image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the scale of the galactic core. The locator mark in the middle designates the galaxy's nucleus, which is home to a central, supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A* (pronounced Sagittarius A-star).
Credits
NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA);Acknowledgment: T. Do and A. Ghez (UCLA), and V. Bajaj (STScI)
Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Galactic Center |
| Object Description | Center of the Milky Way Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 17h 45m 36.0s |
| Dec. Position | -28° 55' 58.8" |
| Constellation | Sagittarius |
| Distance | 27,000 light-years (8,000 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HST data were taken from proposals , , and PI: T. Do (UCLA) and PI: A. Ghez (UCLA). The science team comprises T. Do, A. Ghez, and M. Morris (UCLA), R. Schodel (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucia), J. Lu (University of Hawaii), W. Clarkson (University of Michigan), D. Merritt (RIT), B. Hansen and S. Yelda (UCLA), J. Bullock (University of California, Irvine), J. Anderson (STScI), L. Meyer, E. Mills, and N. McCrady (UCLA), and J.-U. Pott (Max Planck Insititue for Astronomy, Heidelberg). |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/IR |
| Exposure Dates | 2010 - 2014 |
| Filters | F127M (H2O/CH4 continuum), F139M (H2O/CH4 line), and F153M (H2O and NH3) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3/IR instrument. Several filters were used to sample various wavelengths. 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: F127M (H2O/CH4 continuum) Green: F139M (H2O/CH4 line) Red: F153M (H2O and NH3) |
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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov