Astronomy Picture of the Day · October 18, 2002

At the Center of the Milky Way

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 18, 2002 is “At the Center of the Milky Way,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Rainer Schdel ( MPE ) et al. , NAOS-CONICA , ESO. The original explanation runs about 194 words.

From the explanation

“At the center of our Milky Way Galaxy lies a black hole with over 2 million times the mass of the Sun. Once a controversial claim, this astounding conclusion is now virtually inescapable and based on observations of stars orbiting very near the galactic center.”

— APOD editors, October 18, 2002

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: October 18, 2002
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Rainer Schdel ( MPE ) et al. , NAOS-CONICA , ESO
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 194 words

All of October 2002 → · 2002 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Sun The Milky Way Galaxies Black holes

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: October 18 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, October 18, 2002 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2002-october-18-at-the-center-of-the-milk-way

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.