Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 April 14
   [2]The featured image shows the very center of our Milky Way Galaxy as
    resolved by the MeerKAT array in radio light. Many supernova remnants
   and unusual filaments are visible. At the upper right is an inset image
   of a small region taken in infrared by JWST. Please see the explanation
                       for more detailed information.

                  The Galactic Center in Radio from MeerKAT
   Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CSA, [6]STScI, [7]SARAO, [8]S. Crowe
    ([9]UVA), J. Bally (CU), R. Fedriani (IAA-CSIC), I. Heywood (Oxford)

   Explanation: What's happening at the center of our galaxy? It's hard to
   tell with optical telescopes since [10]visible light is blocked by
   intervening interstellar dust. In other bands of light, though, such as
   [11]radio, the [12]galactic center can be imaged and shows itself to be
   quite an [13]interesting and active place. The [14]featured picture
   shows an image of our Milky Way's center by the [15]MeerKAT array of 64
   radio dishes in [16]South Africa. Spanning four times the angular size
   of [17]the Moon (2 [18]degrees), the image is impressively vast, deep,
   and detailed. [19]Many known sources are shown in clear detail,
   including many with a prefix of Sgr, since the [20]galactic center is
   in the direction of the [21]constellation Sagittarius. In our galaxy's
   center lies [22]Sgr A, found here in the image center, which houses the
   [23]Milky Way's central supermassive black hole. Other sources in the
   image are not as well understood, including [24]the Arc, just to the
   left of [25]Sgr A, and numerous filamentary threads. The [26]inset
   image shows a small patch recently imaged in [27]infrared light with
   the [28]James Webb Space Telescope to [29]investigate the effects of
   magnetic fields on star formation.

    Open Science: [30]Browse 3,600+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code
                                   Library
                      Tomorrow's picture: star cylinder
     __________________________________________________________________

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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [42]Robert Nemiroff ([43]MTU) & [44]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([45]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [46]Specific rights apply.
            [47]NASA Web Privacy, [48]Accessibility, [49]Notices;
                A service of: [50]ASD at [51]NASA / [52]GSFC,
                         [53]NASA Science Activation
                           & [54]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2504/GCenter_MeerKatWebb_7642.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/
   6. https://www.stsci.edu/
   7. https://www.sarao.ac.za/
   8. https://www.samcroweastro.com/
   9. https://astronomy.as.virginia.edu/
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight
  11. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/05_radiowaves
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241124.html
  13. https://www.sarao.ac.za/media-releases/new-meerkat-radio-image-reveals-complex-heart-of-the-milky-way/
  14. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2025/115/01JQ7CMZNPQSCT4TD0Q1M1F66M
  15. https://www.sarao.ac.za/gallery/meerkat/
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
  17. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/
  18. https://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/degrees.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020803.html
  20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXAU0gzsPOw
  21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittarius_(constellation)
  22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittarius_A
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220513.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020521.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180122.html
  26. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2025/115/01JQ7CMZNPQSCT4TD0Q1M1F66M
  27. https://webbtelescope.org/science/the-observatory/infrared-astronomy
  28. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/
  29. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQsgYmFcVdx1JScI0IMUjsBrVQqJtvNAB7xQw&s
  30. https://ascl.net/code/all
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250413.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  37. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  40. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250414
  41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250415.html
  42. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  43. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  44. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  45. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  46. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  47. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  48. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  49. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  50. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  51. https://www.nasa.gov/
  52. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  53. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  54. http://www.mtu.edu/