Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

The Milky Way's Center

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 15, 1997 is “The Milky Way's Center,” an image. It is credited to The Milky Way’s Center Credit: DIRBE, COBE, NASA. The original explanation runs about 178 words.

The Milky Way's Center
Credit: The Milky Way’s Center Credit: DIRBE, COBE, NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Explanation : Although the Earth is round, our Galaxy appears truly flat. This was shown in dramatic fashion by the COsmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite which produced this premier view of the central region of our own Milky Way Galaxy in infrared light in1990.”

— APOD editors, March 15, 1997

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
March 15, 1997
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: The Milky Way’s Center Credit: DIRBE, COBE, NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 178 words

All of March 1997 → · 1997 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Milky WayGalaxies

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.