the Center of our Galaxy

Two astronomers have discovered that an enormous X-shaped structure made of stars, lies at the central bulge of our Milky Way Galaxy.

Astronomers Dustin Lang and Melissa Ness found, with the help of Twitter, an “enormous X-shaped structure made of stars,” that could point the center of the Milky Way.

Above, image credit: D. Lang/Dunlap Institute

They analyzed data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), and then Lang tweeted a link to his interactive galaxy map, and Ness spotted the X.

The two scientists published their findings in Astronomical Journal.

Lang told Phys.org:

“That’s the power of large surveys and open science!”

Two Astronomers discovered the Center of our Galaxy

An close-up view on the Galaxy’s center and the blue-tinted “X.”   Credit: D. Lang/Dunlap Institute