Map of the Universe

Central Molecular Zone

Galactic structure · Region in the Milky Way with lots of gas and giant molecular clouds

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Central Molecular Zone
Picture: NRAO/AUI/NSF; Adam Ginsburg and John Bally (Univ of Colorado - Boulder), Farhad Yusef-Zadeh (Northwestern), Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey team; GLIMPSE II team, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

About the Central Molecular Zone

The Central Molecular Zone is about 26,460 light-years from the Sun, so the light we see from it left about 26,460 years ago.

It is 818 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way.

The map lists it as a galactic structure and shows it among the stars around the Sun, drawn on the plane of the Milky Way.

A dense disc of molecular gas about 500 pc across around the Galactic centre, holding ~60 million solar masses of gas.

Key numbers

Distance26,460 light-years (8.11 kpc)
Distance from the Galactic centre818 light-years
Galactic coordinatesl = 1.32°, b = +0.00°

Where it is

Its place in the universe, from the inside out: Milky Way › Local Group › Virgo Supercluster › Laniakea Supercluster › Observable universe.

Zoom out to see it in context: Local Arm, a view about 12,000 light-years across.

From Wikipedia

The Central Molecular Zone or CMZ is a region of the Milky Way Galaxy rich in an estimated 60 million solar masses (M☉) of gas within a complex of giant molecular clouds.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Central Molecular Zone, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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