Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
Explanation:
In
Jules Verne's science fiction classic
A Journey to the Center of the Earth,
Professor Hardwigg and his fellow explorers
encounter many strange and exciting wonders.
What wonders lie at the center of
our Galaxy?
Astronomers now know of some of the bizarre objects which exist there,
like
vast dust clouds,
bright young stars,
swirling rings of gas, and
possibly even a
large black hole.
Much of the
Galactic center region
is shielded from our view in visible light by the
intervening dust and gas.
But it can be explored using other forms of electromagnetic
radiation, like
radio, infrared, X-rays, and gamma rays.
This beautiful high resolution image of the
Galactic center region in infrared light was made by the
SPIRIT III telescope onboard the
Midcourse Space Experiment.
The center itself
appears as a bright spot near the middle of the roughly 1x3 degree field of
view, the plane of the Galaxy is vertical, and the
north galactic pole is towards the right. The picture is in false color -
starlight appears blue while dust is greenish grey, tending to red in
the cooler areas.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
