An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A thick disk of gas and dust clouds surrounding the → Galactic Center up to about 20 → light-years. The disk is very clumpy; the → clumps have densities of several 10⁵ particles/cm³, radii of about 0.3 light-years, and gas temperatures above 100 K. The hydrogen mass of the disk is a few 10⁴ → solar masses. Such
circumnuclear disks are present also in other galaxies.

See also: → circumnuclear; → disk.