Stars of the Galactic Center
影像提供 Suzan Stolovy (SSC/Caltech) et al., JPL-Caltech, NASA
Explanation:
The center of our Milky Way Galaxy is hidden from the prying eyes of optical telescopes by clouds of obscuring dust and gas. But in this stunning vista, the Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared cameras, penetrate much of the dust revealing the stars of the crowded galactic center region. A mosaic of many smaller snapshots, the detailed, false-color image shows older, cool stars in bluish hues. Reddish glowing dust clouds are associated with young, hot stars in stellar nurseries. The galactic center lies some 26,000 light-years away, toward the constellation Sagittarius. At that distance, this picture spans about 900 light-years.
說明:
本銀河系的中心因為星塵及氣體的雲氣所遮擋，以致於光學的望遠鏡無法一窺其貌。 但這張壯麗的星場照片卻是利用史匹哲太空望遠鏡 紅外線的照相機，穿透星塵，顯露出星系中心的群星。 這是利用很多小張的照片所疊起來的一張照片，假色所顯示的細節分別為，較老且溫度低的星星以藍色來表示，而紅色代表年輕且熾熱的新星球。 星系中心距離 26,000 光年遠，向著人馬座(Sagittarius)的方向。在這樣的距離，這張照片的寬度約為900光年。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
