What's in the Center of the Galaxy?

What will you see when you look toward the center of the Milky Way Galaxy? Find out on today's episode of Astro Minute!

What is Astro Minute?

Welcome to the Astro Minute! I'm Lauren Smyth, and with the help of astronomer and teacher Kelli Smyth, I'll be your tour guide as we explore the secrets of the night sky sixty seconds at a time.

Welcome to the Astro minute, where we’re exploring the universe sixty seconds at a time. I’m Lauren Smyth, and today we are going to find the center of our galaxy.

Look just above the southern horizon on a summer or autumn evening. There you’ll see the constellation Sagittarius the Archer with its eight brightest stars making up an asterism called the Teapot-complete with lid, handle, and spout-pouring milk into the Milky Way. But that fuzzy band stretching across the sky isn’t milk - it’s the part of our own Milky Way Galaxy’s gas, dust, and one hundred billion or so stars that we can see from our home inside one of its spiral arms. If you look above the Teapot’s spout, you’ll be looking toward the center of our galaxy where you will see…darkness…because the galactic center is occupied by a supermassive black hole. But if you scan the region with binoculars, you’ll also see stars, nebulae, and star clusters orbiting and filling the dense center of our galaxy.

That’s your astro minute!