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.
