ALMA Captures 45-Panel Image of Milky Way's Heart, Revealing New Chemical Map
Updated
Updated · WBUR News · May 12
ALMA Captures 45-Panel Image of Milky Way's Heart, Revealing New Chemical Map
2 articles · Updated · WBUR News · May 12
ALMA scientists assembled the largest, most detailed view yet of the Milky Way’s center, stitching 45 sub-mosaics into a color-coded image of gas and dust about 25,000 light-years away.
The map uses radio signatures from molecules such as carbon monoxide and methanol to trace chemistry and motion in the galaxy’s central molecular zone, where dense gas is collapsing into future stars and planetary systems.
Researchers said the survey has already exposed surprises, including a compact fast-moving object seen only at millimeter wavelengths — dubbed a MUBLO — that still defies classification after follow-up checks.
The image also shows spiderweb-like filaments shaped by gas collisions and orbital motion around the galactic center, offering a nearby laboratory for conditions thought to resemble star formation in the early universe.
A James Webb program will map the same region to pair ALMA’s cold-gas view with newborn stars, though scientists warned U.S. funding cuts could limit the staff needed to exploit those observatories.
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ACES Delivers the Most Comprehensive Image of the Milky Way’s Core: Star Formation, Chemistry, and Galactic Evolution Revealed
Overview
The ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey (ACES) has delivered the most detailed and extensive image ever of the Milky Way’s Central Molecular Zone, marking a major milestone in our understanding of the galaxy. By assembling a vast mosaic from numerous ALMA observations, ACES resolved intricate cold gas structures with a level of detail never seen before. This achievement unveiled a surprising complexity and richness in the CMZ, revealing features that were previously hidden and challenging earlier ideas about galactic centers. The survey provides a fresh perspective on the dynamic processes shaping the core of our galaxy.