Public domain
A Break in the Milky Way's Sagittarius Arm
From the collection of NASA Image and Video Library. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A contingent of young stars and star-forming gas clouds is sticking out of one of the Milky Way's spiral arms like a splinter protruding from a plank of wood. Stretching some 3,000 light-years, this is the first major structure identified with such a dramatically different orientation relative to the arm. The background image shows the location of the splinter in the Milky Way. The yellow region in the center of the image is the galaxy's bright and crowded center.
NASA Image and Video Library’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineA Break in the Milky Way's Sagittarius Arm. NASA/JPL, 2021-08-17. Public domain. ID: PIA24576.
