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Galactic Center (Sgr A*):
Chandra Discovers X-ray Source at the Center of Our Galaxy

Galactic Center
Credit: NASA/MIT/PSU
JPEG (32 kb) Tiff (783.6 kb) PS (6 MB)
Chandra X-ray image of the innermost 10 light years at the center of our galaxy. The image has been smoothed to bring out the X-ray emission from an extended cloud of hot gas surrounding the supermassive black-hole candidate Sagittarius A* (larger white dot at the very center of the image- a little to the left and above the smallest white dot). This gas glows in X-ray light because it has been heated to a temperature of millions of degrees by shock waves produced by supernova explosions and perhaps by colliding winds from young massive stars.

Fast Facts for Galactic Center:
Credit  NASA/MIT/PSU
Scale  Image is 1.3 arcmin on a side.
Category  Black Holes, Milky Way Galaxy
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 17h 45m 40s | Dec -29° 00' 28"
Constellation  Sagittarius
Obs. IDs  242
Color Code  Intensity
Instrument  ACIS
Distance Estimate  26,000 light years
Release Date  January 14, 2000
More Information on Galactic Center:
Press Room: Sagittarius A* Press Release (06 Jan 03)
Press Room: Galactic Center (Survey) Press Release (09 Jan 02)
Press Room: Galactic Center
More Images of Galactic Center
Galactic Center Handout: html | pdf
Powerpoint and PDF
Other Chandra Releases for Galactic Center:
Photo Album: Sagittarius A* (16 Apr 08)
Photo Album: Sagittarius A* (13 Oct 05)
Photo Album: Hot Gas in Galactic Center (13 Jun 04)
Photo Album: Sagittarius A* (06 Jan 03)
Photo Album: Sagittarius A* (05 Sep 01)
Related Chandra Images:
Photo Album: Sagittarius A East (01 Feb 01)
More Information on Black Holes:
X-ray Astronomy Field Guide: Black Holes
Questions and Answers: Black Holes
Chandra Images: Black Holes
More Information on Milky Way Galaxy :
X-ray Astronomy Field Guide: Milky Way Galaxy
Questions and Answers: Milky Way Galaxy
Chandra Images: Milky Way Galaxy


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