{"id":313484,"date":"2026-03-05T01:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/313484\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T01:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T01:50:09","slug":"heart-of-our-milky-way-revealed-in-new-radio-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/313484\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart of our Milky Way revealed in new radio image"},"content":{"rendered":"

This brief video gives you a look at the new image of the Milky Way center taken in radio wavelengths. It\u2019s the largest image the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA<\/a>) in Chile has ever taken. Video via ALMA (ESO\/ NAOJ\/ NRAO)\/ S. Longmore et al. Background: ESO\/ D. Minniti et al.<\/a><\/p>\n

At the heart of the Milky Way lies an enormous cloud feature that astronomers have now imaged in great detail using the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile.
\nThe image reveals complex gas clouds spanning 650 light-years, with chemical molecules and massive star formation, orbiting the galaxy\u2019s supermassive black hole.
\nThese data will help scientists study extreme star formation and better understand how galaxies evolved in the early universe.<\/p>\n

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n

Complex gas structures at the Milky Way center<\/p>\n

The space between stars is not empty. Instead, it is permeated with several forms of gas, mostly containing hydrogen. Some of these gases exist as dense regions of cold molecular clouds<\/a>. On February 25, 2026, astronomers said<\/a> they had imaged, in unprecedented detail, an enormous swath of clouds at the center of our Milky Way<\/a>. Specifically, they captured this large image in millimeter radio wavelengths. It revealed new details of a chaotic gaseous region with massive stars that orbits the supermassive black hole<\/a> in our galaxy\u2019s center. <\/p>\n

Astronomers call this cloud, 28,000 light-years<\/a> away, the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ<\/a>). It spans 650 light-years across, and if you projected it on our sky, it would be the width of three full moons. <\/p>\n

The scientists observed it using the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array, better known as ALMA<\/a>. That\u2019s an observatory with 66 radio telescopes located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. <\/p>\n

Over 60 scientists around the world collaborated to create this treasure trove of data. They named this project ACES<\/a>, short for the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey. <\/p>\n

The team announced their project<\/a> on February 25, 2026. It will soon be published as a series of papers in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA<\/a>) in Chile to capture the Central Molecular Zone<\/a> (inset image), at the core of the Milky Way<\/a>. Image via ALMA (ESO\/ NAOJ\/ NRAO)<\/a>\/ S. Longmore et al. Stars in inset: ESO\/ D. Minniti et al. Milky Way: ESO\/ S. Guisard.
\n\"Six<\/a>Several of the 66 radio antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), located in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Image via ESO<\/a>\/ B. Tafreshi (CC BY 4.0<\/a>).
\nThe Central Molecular Zone in unprecedented detail<\/p>\n

The clouds in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) are invisible to our eyes. But they shine faintly in radio wavelengths that can be detected by sensitive radio telescopes.<\/p>\n

ALMA scanned the Central Molecular Zone, taking multiple sub-images of the 650-light-year-wide region. Then, researchers joined each sub-image together to create an enormous mosaic. In fact, it\u2019s the largest image that the observatory has ever created.<\/p>\n

This big, high-resolution image has uncovered details scientists have never seen before. For instance, astronomers saw a complex network of filaments, with structures that ranged in size from dozens of light-years across to gases surrounding individual stars. In addition, images in different radio wavelengths revealed the chemical makeup of the clouds, from simple molecules like silicon monoxide to complex organic molecules such as methanol, acetone and ethanol. <\/p>\n

Katharina Immer<\/a>, a project participant at the European Southern Observatory, said<\/a>: <\/p>\n

We anticipated a high level of detail when designing the survey, but we were genuinely surprised by the complexity and richness revealed in the final mosaic.<\/p>\n

\"AThis image \u2013 from the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA) \u2013 shows new details of cold molecular clouds at the center of the Milky Way. If you would like to explore this field in more detail, you can zoom into it in this image<\/a>. Image via ALMA (ESO\/ NAOJ\/ NRAO)<\/a>\/ S. Longmore et al. Background: ESO\/ D. Minniti et al.
\nStar formation in extreme environments<\/p>\n

This region is intriguing to astronomers because it is such an extreme environment, not unlike conditions in the early universe. <\/p>\n

Steve Longmore<\/a>, project member at the Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, said:<\/p>\n

The Central Molecular Zone hosts some of the most massive stars known in our galaxy, many of which live fast and die young, ending their lives in powerful supernova<\/a> explosions, and even hypernovas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By studying how stars are born in the Central Molecular Zone, we can also gain a clearer picture of how galaxies grew and evolved. We believe the region shares many features with galaxies in the early universe, where stars were forming in chaotic, extreme environments.<\/p>\n

Steve Longmore talks about the new image of the Central Molecular Zone obtained using ALMA. Video via S. Longmore<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chemistry of molecular clouds at the Milky Way center<\/p>\n

In cold molecular clouds, a molecule can spin at certain speeds, depending on its chemical makeup. However, when the speed changes from one to another, it emits or absorbs a specific radio wavelength of electromagnetic radiation. Plus, the value of that specific wavelength depends on the chemical composition of the molecule. As a result, by looking at the radio spectrum, astronomers can identify the chemical composition of the cloud. (This video<\/a> from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory illustrates this mechanism in more detail.) <\/p>\n

\"Five<\/a>ALMA mapped the distribution of several dozen molecules in the Central Molecular Zone. This image shows the distribution of 5 molecules in the cloud. First image, labeled CS: carbon monosulphide is a molecule made of 1 carbon and 1 sulfur atom. Second image, labeled HNCO: isocyanic acid is a molecule with 1 hydrogen, 1 nitrogen, 1 carbon and 1 oxygen atom. Third image, labeled SiO: silicon monoxide has 1 silicon and 1 oxygen atom. Fourth image, labeled SO: sulphur monoxide has 1 sulphur and 1 oxygen atom. Fifth image, labeled HC3N: cyanoacetylene is an organic compound with 1 hydrogen atom, 3 carbon atoms, and 1 nitrogen atom. Image via ALMA(ESO\/NAOJ\/NRAO)<\/a>\/S. Longmore et al.<\/p>\n

Immer has a special interest in astrochemistry. She said the molecular clouds near the center of our galaxy are more turbulent and warmer compared to those farther out. Therefore, she wondered, do stars and chemicals form differently in the Central Molecular Zone compared to outer parts of the Milky Way?<\/p>\n

Katharina Immer talks about the new ALMA image of the Central Molecular Zone. Video via European Southern Observatory<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Future studies of the Central Molecular Zone<\/p>\n

The data collected so far will keep astronomers busy for years. But they\u2019re not stopping there. <\/p>\n

Ashley Barnes<\/a>, at the European Southern Observatory, said:<\/p>\n

The upcoming ALMA wideband sensitivity upgrade<\/a>, along with ESO\u2019s Extremely Large Telescope<\/a>, will soon allow us to push even deeper into this region \u2014 resolving finer structures, tracing more complex chemistry and exploring the interplay between stars, gas and black holes with unprecedented clarity. In many ways, this is just the beginning.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: Astronomers used powerful radio telescopes to build an unprecedentedly detailed view of cold molecular gases in the center of the Milky Way.<\/p>\n

Source: A collection of preprints listed at the ALMA Central Molecular Zone Exploration Survey website.<\/a><\/p>\n

Via European Southern Observatory<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more: Milky Way center: Threads of hot gas and magnetic fields<\/a><\/p>\n

Shireen Gonzaga
\n View Articles<\/a><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/p>\n

Shireen Gonzaga is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about natural history. She is also a technical editor at an astronomical observatory where she works on documentation for astronomers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This brief video gives you a look at the new image of the Milky Way center taken in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[111,139,69,393,147,392],"class_list":["post-313484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-physics","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-physics","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}