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What Lies at the Center of the Milky Way?

NASA closes out the Year of Astronomy 2009 with stunning images of the galactic center. For the first time, we can 'see' who lives in the heart of the Milky Way, objects that emit almost no visible light by comparison to their powerful images in the infrared, gamma-ray and x-ray regions of the spectrum. Dazzling images of the center of our galaxy follow.

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Gazing into the Center of the Milky Way

Not too many years ago, astronomers despaired over whether they would ever get a clear, sharp, informative picture of the galactic center. The giant clouds of dense gas that dominate the center of the Milky Way seemed to be an impenetrable barrier. Nonetheless, persistence paid off and a few years ago, three of the most extraordinary telescopes ever built began to acquire new data. Awe-inspiring pictures of the Universe accompany their story.

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Milky Way Observed Over Mauna Kea Volcano

Our galaxy has been photographed many times, but this just released NASA panorama is a beauty! The Milky Way is a large spiral galaxy that contains 200-400 billion stars and is 13.2 billion years old. On Earth, we are inside the galactic disk of the Milky Way, which is the arc of uncountable 'milky stars' we see in the night sky.

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Supermassive Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way

Astronomers made a spectacular announcement in late fall, 2008. Suspected for several years, a massive black hole has been identified at the galactic center. Black holes are still difficult to understand. They are created by the gravitational collapse of the most massive stars. Some of the star's material is blown away in a colossal explosion called a supernovae.

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