Chandra Release - June 13, 2004

Visual Description: Hot Gas in Galactic Center

The X-ray image of a portion of the Galactic Center of the Milky Way showcases a vibrant cosmic scene, with bright aqua, blue diffuse emission with red and brown splatters that resemble paint or ink spills. This image was produced by combining a dozen Chandra observations made of a 130 light year region in the center of the Milky Way. The colors represent low (red), medium (green) and high (blue) energy X-rays. Thanks to Chandra's unique resolving power, astronomers have now been able to identify thousands of point-like X-ray sources due to neutron stars, black holes, white dwarfs, foreground stars, and background galaxies. What remains is a diffuse X-ray glow extending from the upper left to the lower right, along the direction of the disk of the Galaxy.