January 6, 2012
The constellations may be old, but the person celebrating beneath them is gloriously new by cosmic standards.
A Wide Field Image of the Galactic Center
Birthday · January 6, 2012
A little universe, just for you
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APOD published January 6, 2012. Credit: Ivan Eder. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
From Sagittarius to Scorpius, the central Milky Way is a truly beautiful part of planet Earth's night sky. The gorgeous region is captured in this wide field image spanning about 30 degrees. The impressive cosmic vista, taken in 2010, shows off intricate dust lanes, bright nebulae, and star clusters scattered through our galaxy's rich central starfields. Starting on the left, look for the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae, the Cat's Paw, while on the right lies the Pipe dark nebula, and the colorful clouds of Rho Ophiuchi and Antares (right). The actual center of our Galaxy lies about 26,000 light years away and can be found here. Discovery + Outreach: Graduate student research position open for APOD
Image credit: Ivan Eder