A close view on Stars at the Galactic Center

--> -->The center of our Milky Way Galaxy is unseen from the prying eyes of optical telescopes by clouds of obscuring dust and gas. But, still in this stunning vista, the Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared cameras penetrate much of the dust, revealing the stars of the crowded galactic center region.

A mosaic of many smaller snapshots, this detailed, artificial-color image shows older, cool stars in bluish hues. Reddish glowing dust clouds are related with young, hot stars in stellar nurseries. The galactic center lies some 26,000 light-years away, in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius and at that distance; this picture spans about 900 light-years.