Alternate Names

Sagittarius A*

Type

Supermassive

Location

In the constellation Sagittarius

Finder Chart

Distance

27,000 light-years (8 kiloparsecs)

Mass

4.1 million times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter roughly 15 million miles (24 million km).

Discovery Methods

• Measuring the motions of stars

1

This 2005 infrared view from Spitzer Space Telescope captures the heart of the Milky Way in stunning detail. The red filaments are glowing clouds of gas and dust, while the brighter knots of material are nurseries for new star birth. Sagittarius A* is at the middle of the large, bright concentration at the center of the image. [NASA/JPL/S. Stolovy (SSC/Caltech) ]

This document was last modified: January 12, 2006.