The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

A new infrared survey that claims to be the most comprehensive structural analysis of our galaxy confirms previous evidence for a central bar of stars.

The bar is embedded in the center of the galaxy’s spiral arms and cuts across the heart of it all where a supermassive black hole resides. The survey found that the bar is longer than thought and sits at a sharp angle to the galaxy’s main plane.

“This is the best evidence ever for this long central bar in our galaxy,” said Ed Churchwell, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of astronomy. (more…)