Galactic Center - Molecular Clouds in the Constellation Sagittarius

The center of our galaxy is about 26,500 light-years away and in visible light hidden behind gigantic gas and dust clouds. They absorb the light of the stars behind and within them almost completely. Only at longer wavelengths in the infrared band the dust becomes transparent and the bright center gets "visible".
In the image, the direction to the Galactic center is between the emission nebulae Sh2-16 and Sh2-17, which are marked in the annotated image.

larger image
Date: 10.06.2023
Optics: Williams Optic RedCat 51
Aperture: 51 mm
Focal Length: 250 mm
Camera: ASI 071 MC
Exposure: 12 x 600 s
Location: Chamaeleon Observatory, Onjala Lodge, Namibia
Processing: Nebulosity, Registar, Photoshop
annotated image

image field in the sky