Follow this link to skip to the main content

Description


Movie (2.6 MB)

AUDIO:
None.

VIDEO:

The upper oval shows the entire sky, with the plane of our Galaxy running across the center. The lower portion is an expanded view of the crowded region of the sky near the center of our Galaxy. In this image, some notable X-ray Sources are located. Note that the Sun is depicted by an open circle. In the animations, the Sun moves as time goes on.

The X-ray objects are pinpoints, just like visible stars, but in the animation they are indicated with colored circles. The size of a circle represents the brightness. The color of the circle is the "X-ray color." Blue generally represents higher-temperature gases and red represents lower-temperature gases.

This clip shows a number of Active Galaxies. Although they are faint, their X-ray intensity varies.

 

A service of the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), Dr. Andy Ptak (Director), within the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA/GSFC

NASA Logo, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Goddard