Astronomers Capture Most Detailed Image of Milky Way's Central Molecular Zone

Astronomers have captured the most detailed image yet of the Milky Way's Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), a turbulent region over 650 light-years across surrounding the galaxy's supermassive black hole. Using the ALMA telescope in Chile, the largest dataset ever obtained reveals complex filaments of cold molecular gas, the raw material for star formation. The survey, led by Steve Longmore and involving the European Southern Observatory, aims to better understand star birth and galactic evolution in this extreme environment.