Astronomy Picture of the Day: 10/24/12 - Milky Way in X-ray and Infrared

Many of you have probably seen the Milky Way. Whether you’ve seen it in a picture or have been fortunate enough to get away from the city lights to personally observe its dust lane, this picture shows the Milky Way in a whole new light (no pun intended).

This is a picture of the Milky Way taken in infrared and X-ray, allowing astronomers to peer through the dust and observe the galactic core. This image itself covers an area of sky about half a degree across, or the size of one full moon.

References, sources, and further reading can be found here: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-102412-milky-way-in-x-ray-and-infrared/