Hover your mouse over each blue dot for the name of the object, or click on the dot for a detail page. This map was created using the all-sky hydrogen-alpha map produced by Douglas Finkbeiner from data collected by the WHAM, VTSS and SHASSA hydrogen-alpha surveys.

This region contains the radio source Sagittarius A (also called W24), which is now known to contain a several million solar mass black hole at the nucleus of the Milky Way, located at a distance of about 8000 parsecs from our solar system. Not far away are several large HII regions, including Sh 2-21 (RCW 142).

In the foreground is a complex of six related HII regions (Sh 2-15 to Sh 2-20), located at a distance of 1500 parsecs.