Starship Asterisk*

The Annotated Galactic Center

Explanation: The center of our Milky Way galaxy can be found some 26,000 light-years away toward the constellation Sagittarius. Even on a dark night, you can't really see it though. Gaze in that direction, and your sight-line is quickly obscured by intervening interstellar dust. In fact, dark dust clouds, glowing nebulae, and crowded starfieds are packed along the fertile galactic plane and central regions of our galaxy. This annotated view, a mosaic of dark sky images, highlights some favorites, particularly for small telescope or binocular equipped skygazers. The cropped version puts the direction to the galactic center on the far right. It identifies well-known Messier objects like the Lagoon nebula (M8), the Trifid (M20), star cloud M24, and some of E.E. Barnard's dark markings on the sky. A full version extends the view to the right toward the constellation Scorpius, in all covering over 20 degrees across the center of the Milky Way.

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Awesome... from IC1284 to M21 is a WRIST... up to M23 is the clinched thumb, and at M23 is a "pointing finger"...in the center, between the two sides is a central area in which I see faces, and bodies...and a guy leaning over playing POOL!!!

What can you "See"?

:---[===] *

Lovely picture! Great details and truly beautiful colors. Nice annotation, too.

I note that the position of the Lagoon Nebula, as seen from our position, is about midway between the Small Sagittarius Cloud (M24) and the Galactic center.

Ann

Awesome!

A deer running to the left..someone gazing down into a well or over an edge.

Ann wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:40 am Lovely picture! Great details and truly beautiful colors. Nice annotation, too.

I note that the position of the Lagoon Nebula, as seen from our position, is about midway between the Small Sagittarius Cloud (M24) and the Galactic center.

Ann

This view shows what's to the left of galactic center, but the view to the right is right purdy too y'all. It's even bluer Ann.

APOD Robot wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 4:10 am A full version extends the view to the right toward the constellation Scorpius, in all covering over 20 degrees across the center of the Milky Way.

Globular cluster M28 is also visible toward the bottom center.

Boomer12k wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:05 am Awesome... from IC1284 to M21 is a WRIST... up to M23 is the clinched thumb, and at M23 is a "pointing finger"...in the center, between the two sides is a central area in which I see faces, and bodies...and a guy leaning over playing POOL!!!

What can you "See"?

:---[===] *

Great question!
Aside from its great beauty (particularly the large version one gets by clicking on the image)
and aside from the familiar shapes our mind tries to recognize,
indeed, what are we seeing, though we as yet know it not?
... How many life forms on how many celestial orbs?
... How much uninhabited real estate?
... How many places of utter devastation, or places of extreme environments?
... How many gold mines, piles of rubble, capsules of precious water?

I can get why Hubble said "The search will continue. The urge is older than history. It is not satisfied and it will not be oppressed."

BDanielMayfield wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:18 pm
This view shows what's to the left of galactic center, but the view to the right is right purdy too y'all. It's even bluer Ann.

I know!!!

Ann