New stunning view of Milky Way’s center

NASA’s flying telescope SOFIA captured a crisp infrared image of the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Spanning more than 600 light-years, the panorama reveals details within the dense swirls of gas and dust, opening the door to future research into how massive stars are forming and what’s feeding the black hole at our galaxy’s core.

Above image:

Composite infrared image of the center of our Milky Way galaxy. It spans 600+ light-years across and is helping scientists learn how many massive stars are forming in our galaxy’s center. New data from SOFIA taken at 25 and 37 microns, shown in blue and green, is combined with data from the Herschel Space Observatory, shown in red (70 microns), and the Spitzer Space Telescope, shown in white (8 microns). SOFIA’s view reveals features that have never been seen before.

Video credit: NASA/Ames Research Center

source NASA