The Hidden Chemistry at The Heart of Our Galaxy | ALMA

The Hidden Chemistry at The Heart of Our Galaxy | ALMA

   

This video explores the molecular gas in the center of the Milky Way in unprecedented detail. This new image, obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), shows the distribution of molecules, each displayed in a distinct color. This map will allow astronomers to understand how stars form in the extreme and chaotic environment in the center of our galaxy.

This map is part of ACES—the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey—a project designed to understand how gas condenses into stars in the extreme and chaotic environment at the heart of our galaxy. The survey has charted the distribution of dozens of molecule types, five are shown here: sulphur monoxide (cyan), silicon monoxide (green), isocyanic acid (red), cyanoacetylene (blue), and carbon monosulphide (magenta).

Cold molecular gas flows along filaments feeding into clumps of matter out of which stars can grow. In the outskirts of the Milky Way we know how this process happens, but within the central region the events are much more extreme. “The CMZ hosts some of the most massive stars known in our galaxy, many of which live fast and die young, ending their lives in powerful supernova explosions, and even hypernovae,” says ACES leader Steve Longmore, a professor of astrophysics at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. With ACES, astronomers hope to better understand how these phenomena influence the birth of stars and whether our theories of star formation hold in extreme environments.

“By studying how stars are born in the CMZ, we can also gain a clearer picture of how galaxies grew and evolved,” Longmore adds. “We believe the region shares many features with galaxies in the early Universe, where stars were forming in chaotic, extreme environments.”

Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Longmore et al. Background: ESO/D. Minniti et al.
Script: J. C. Muñoz
Editing: M. Martins
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: Feb. 25, 2026

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