HAWK-I view of the Milky Way’s central region

Taken with the HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in the Chilean Atacama Desert, this stunning image shows the Milky Way’s central region with an angular resolution of 0.2 arcseconds. This means the level of detail picked up by HAWK-I is roughly equivalent to seeing a football (soccer ball) in Zurich from Munich, where ESO’s headquarters are located.

The image combines observations in three different wavelength bands. The team used the broadband filters J (centred at 1250 nanometres, in blue), H (centred at 1635 nanometres, in green), and Ks (centred at 2150 nanometres, in red), to cover the near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. By observing in this range of wavelengths, HAWK-I can peer through the dust, allowing it to see certain stars in the central region of our galaxy that would otherwise be hidden.   

Oikeudet:

ESO/Nogueras-Lara et al.

Kuvasta

Tunnistus:eso1920a
Tyyppi:Havainto
Julkaisupäivä:16. joulukuuta 2019 17:00
Vastaavat julkaisut:eso1920
Koko:40303 x 17463 px

Kohteesta

Nimi:Milky Way Galactic Centre
Tyyppi:Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core
Constellation:Sagittarius
Kategoria:Stars

Kuvaformaatit

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Koordinaatit

Position (RA):17 45 35.96
Position (Dec):-28° 59' 53.45"
Field of view:35.69 x 15.46 arcminutes
Suuntaus:Pohjoinen on 58.8° vasen pystysuuntaan nähden

Värit ja suotimet

KaistaAallonpituusTeleskooppi
Infrapuna
J
1.258 μmVery Large Telescope
HAWK-I
Infrapuna
H
1.62 μmVery Large Telescope
HAWK-I
Infrapuna
Ks
2.146 μmVery Large Telescope
HAWK-I