Dust & Gas in The Milky Way Galaxy's Center (infrared) | NASA Spitzer & WISE

Dust & Gas in The Milky Way Galaxy's Center (infrared) | NASA Spitzer & WISE

Image Processor Judy Schmidt: "Centered on the invisible black hole called Sagittarius A*, infrared light from the Spitzer and WISE missions provides us a glimpse into what otherwise appears visually as a dark band in the constellation of Sagittarius. As you can see, it's a busy place bustling with star formation evidenced by glowing nebulas."

Scientists know how our galaxy likely looks by combining observations of the Milky Way and other spiral galaxies. However, dust clouds make it hard to work out the details on the opposite side of our galaxy. Imagine trying to map a neighborhood while looking through the windows of a house surrounded by a dense fog. 

NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help scientists better understand our Milky Way galaxy’s less sparkly components—gas and dust strewn between stars, known as the interstellar medium.

Learn more about The Milky Way:

https://www.nasa.gov/universe/galaxies/milky-way/

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope:

https://www.nasa.gov/spitzer

NASA's WISE/NEOWISE Mission

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/neowise/

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope 

https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Image Credit: NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)/NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)/JPL-Caltech
Image Processing: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: Nov. 23, 2016

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #SpitzerSpaceTelescope #NASASpitzer #SST #NASAWISE #NGRST #SpaceTelescopes #InfraredAstronomy #MilkyWayGalaxy #Nebulae #Gas #Dust #InterstellarMedium #BlackHoles #SagittariusA #Sagittarius #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education