Wide-field view of the centre of the Milky Way

This visible light wide-field view shows the rich star clouds in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer) in the direction of the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. The entire image is filled with vast numbers of stars — but far more remain hidden behind clouds of dust and are only revealed in infrared images. This view was created from photographs in red and blue light and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The field of view is approximately 3.5 degrees x 3.6 degrees.

Credit:

ESO and Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin and S. Guisard (www.eso.org/~sguisard)

About the Image

Id:galactic-centre-a
Type:Observation
Release date:16 December 2019, 17:00
Size:4257 x 1775 px

About the Object

Name:Milky Way Galactic Centre
Type:Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core
Constellation:Sagittarius
Category:Stars

Image Formats

Large JPEG
1.6 MB
Screensize JPEG
210.8 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x768
291.9 KB
1280x1024
404.1 KB
1600x1200
535.4 KB
1920x1200
639.0 KB
2048x1536
756.6 KB

Coordinates

Position (RA):17 45 34.83
Position (Dec):-28° 59' 44.38"
Field of view:35.67 x 14.87 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 121.3° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Optical
B
425 nm Other
N/A
Optical
V
550 nm Other
N/A
Optical
R
625 nm Other
N/A
Optical
R
649 nmDigitized Sky Survey 2
Optical
B
479 nmDigitized Sky Survey 2