Comparison of the central part of the Milky Way at different wavelengths

This comparison shows the central regions of the Milky Way observed at different wavelengths.

The left panel shows compact sources of submillimetre radiation detected by APEX as part of the ATLASGAL survey, combined with complementary data from ESA’s Planck satellite, to capture more extended features.

The right panel shows the the more familiar view in visible light, where most of the more distant structures are hidden from view.

The significance of the colours varies from image to image and they cannot be directly compared.

Credit

ESO/ATLASGAL consortium/NASA/GLIMPSE consortium/VVV Survey/ESA/Planck/D. Minniti/S. Guisard
Acknowledgement: Ignacio Toledo, Martin Kornmesser