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.

                                2020 March 31

                   The Galactic Center from Radio to X-ray
     Image Credit: X-Ray: NASA, CXC, UMass, D. Wang et al.; Radio: NRF,
                               SARAO, MeerKAT

   Explanation: In how many ways does the center of our Galaxy glow? This
   enigmatic region, about 26,000 light years away toward the
   constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius), glows in every type of light
   that we can see. In the featured image, high-energy X-ray emission
   captured by NASA's orbiting Chandra X-Ray Observatory appears in green
   and blue, while low-energy radio emission captured by SARAO's
   ground-based MeerKAT telescope array is colored red. Just on the right
   of the colorful central region lies Sagittarius A (Sag A), a strong
   radio source that coincides with Sag A*, our Galaxy's central
   supermassive black hole. Hot gas surrounds Sag A, as well as a series
   of parallel radio filaments known as the Arc, seen just left of the
   image center. Numerous unusual single radio filaments are visible
   around the image. Many stars orbit in and around Sag A, as well as
   numerous small black holes and dense stellar cores known as neutron
   stars and white dwarfs. The Milky Way's central supermassive black hole
   is currently being imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope.

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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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