An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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1) The rotational center of the → Milky Way galaxy located in the direction of the → Sagittarius constellation at a distance of 7.62 ± 0.32 kpc (2005, ApJ 628, 246). Its equatorial coordinates (J2000 epoch) are: R.A. 17h45m40.04s, Dec. -29° 00' 28.1''. The Sun orbits around the Galactic center once every 200 million years at a speed of 220 km per second. It is believed that there is a → supermassive black hole at the Galactic center.
2) The innermost region of a → spiral galaxy characterized by high number of stars per unit volume. The center may contain a → supermassive black hole.

→ galactic; → center.

One of the three massive clusters located toward the → Galactic center: → Quintuplet cluster, → Arches cluster, → Central cluster. Heavily extinguished by the presence of dust clouds and only accessible at infrared (and longer) wavelengths or in X-rays, each of these clusters has a population of more than a hundred → massive stars. The three clusters are similar in most respects, each containing about 10⁴ solar masses in stars. The Arches cluster is younger than the two others.

→ galactic; → center; → cluster.