10 January 2002

Astronomy: See the points

The first large-scale high-resolution image of the central region of the Milky Way has answered a long-standing question about the nature of the Galactic Centre by allowing a clear differentiation between emissions from diffuse and point-like sources. The data from the orbiting Chandra Observatory reveal a population of accreting white dwarfs and neutron stars or black holes, with a diffuse shroud of X-ray emission dominating the fainter contributions from point sources.

A faint discrete source origin for the highly ionized iron emission from the Galactic Centre region
Q. D. WANG, E. V. GOTTHELF & C. C. LANG
Nature 415, 148–150 (10 January 2002)
| First Paragraph | Full Text | PDF (259 K) |

Astronomy: X-rays reveal the Galaxy's centre
ANDREAS ECKART
For twenty years astronomers have wondered what is responsible for the X-ray emission from the centre of our Galaxy. New data from the sharpest X-ray eye around — the Chandra observatory — reveal all.
Nature 415, 128–129 (10 January 2002)
| Full Text | PDF (158 K) |