Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2021 April 19

                       The Galactic Center in Infrared
   Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Spitzer Space Telescope, Susan Stolovy
              (SSC/Caltech) et al.; Reprocessing: Judy Schmidt

   Explanation: What does the center of our galaxy look like? In visible
   light, the Milky Way's center is hidden by clouds of obscuring dust and
   gas. But in this stunning vista, the Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared
   cameras, penetrate much of the dust revealing the stars of the crowded
   galactic center region. A mosaic of many smaller snapshots, the
   detailed, false-color image shows older, cool stars in bluish hues. Red
   and brown glowing dust clouds are associated with young, hot stars in
   stellar nurseries. The very center of the Milky Way has recently been
   found capable of forming newborn stars. The galactic center lies some
   26,700 light-years away, toward the constellation Sagittarius. At that
   distance, this picture spans about 900 light-years.

                Tomorrow's picture: destroyed by a black hole
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.
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