Center of Milky Way will be on view for Arizona skywatchers

The center of our Milky Way galaxy is located some 26,000 light years away in the constellation of Sagittarius.

That is very far, even on a galactic scale.

Our galaxy is shaped like a large distorted pinwheel, with upwards of 200 billion stars! Our planet and its surrounding solar system are very small on this massive playing field.

On the other hand, the density of stars that appear at the galactic center would boggle the mind, as every square degree of the sky would be filled with stars.

What lies at the exact center of the Milky Way?

Astronomers tell us that there is a super massive black hole, located at the center of this celestial whirlpool.

One of the most complicated and dynamic objects in the universe is the black hole, a place in time and space in which ALL light and electromagnetic energy is sucked into a tiny point of mass.

So, what do we know about this so-called super massive black hole, known as Sagittarius A?

Strong radio signals were picked up by the late scientist Karl Jansky in 1932 when he turned his crude radio telescope antennae toward the galactic center.

The suspected super massive black hole is surrounded by some 12 stars, and this may be a source of the rapid brightening of Sagittarius A.

The region surrounding a black hole is one of the most amazing locations in the universe, as powerful forces are testing the limits of modern physics and cosmology.

Here is what the region around the nucleus looks like.

Our galaxy is thought to look like this.

To capture the best views of the central region of the Milky Way, we have an amazing opportunity to view it during the next week.

Look to the south around 10 p.m. local time as the moon will not be bright in the sky during the period of Aug. 19-23. The farther you are away from city lights and as free from the summer monsoon, you will have a great opportunity to scan the many star clouds of the Milky Way.

Here is a basic star chart of the Sagittarius region of the Milky Way.

There is so much to see in this region of the Milky Way, that I feel you will be most impressed with the naked eye view alone!
over it
That experience will only get better, as you use a pair or binoculars or a small telescope.
Here is a great link to help you learn so much about our galaxy and what it contains.

The best of luck in viewing the fine details of our galaxy, the Milky Way, thought to be just one of at least 200 billion galaxies, in a universe that is thought to have expanded from a tiny point of mass some 13.5 billion years ago.