You are here

Atomic hydrogen hemisphere (galactic centre direction)

Submitted by Kevin Jardine on 20 July, 2012 - 09:33


Download link: 6144x5560 (24.6 Mb) version
Warning - right click to download as the image is likely too large to view in your browser.
This shows the full 3-dimensional velocity map hemisphere for the atomic hydrogen in the direction of the galactic centre (inner galaxy). It has been dissected to reveal warmer hydrogen gas within the colder hydrogen shell. The colour ranges from magenta (1 °K) through to blue, green and finally pale red (130 °K).

Local large hydrogen clouds from the Rift complex of dark clouds (especially the Aquila rift) are visible above the galactic plane. The image also shows a huge atomic hydrogen cloud that I believe surrounds the small and large Magellanic clouds, satellite galaxies of our own Milky Way.

You can see a version of this image that just shows the extent of the cold atomic hydrogen gas (1 °K) here.

The data is taken from the LAB HI survey (Leiden/Argentine/Bonn atomic hydrogen survey), the most detailed all-sky survey available on the atomic hydrogen gas in the Milky Way galaxy.