iVillage

Most radiation from the GC originated in an extended region about 20 across (above diagram). There are several ‘hot spot’ or discrete emission sources located in the nuclear region. The GC appears somewhat different when viewed through the radio spectrum than it does through the x-ray or infrared windows. There is a powerful discrete x-ray source and at least three discrete infrared sources that each radiate a little less than a million times more in the infrared than our Sun does at all wavelengths.

The GC has four ways of emission at radio frequencies:

1. Emission over a broad continuum of wavelengths by energetic electrons held in orbit by a magnetic field (synchrotron radiation)

2. 21-cm hydrogen emission (hydrogen atoms whose electrons flip over from a higher to a lower energy state)

3. Similar molecular lines of emission.

4. Both line and continuum emission from H II regions.

The most powerful source of synchrotron radiation and the traditional value given for the position of the GC is Sagittarius A which is a source about 12 parsecs in diameter of continuum emission generated by highly energetic electrons spiraling in a magnetic field. Embedded within Sag A and very near the actual center of-the galaxy are several small, bright knots of thermal radio emission about a parsec or less in size (see above). The general region of the galactic nucleus is located at about the 26th degree of Sagittarius in zodiac longitude and -5 degrees of zodiac latitude. Every astrologer should be aware of this position.

Both Theodor Landscheidt and Charles Harvey have written about the GC, which is located at about 26 degress of the zodiac sign Sagittarius. It is a power point when it occurs highly placed in a natal chart, a point often associated with strong, macho like energy. It is sometimes related to the Christian and Judaic religions and said to represent their aggressive and positive energy and outreach.

A nebula containing a very hot star can be excited to self luminosity, resulting in what is termed an emission nebula. A nebulous region which is excited to luminosity in this way is also called an H-II region since hydrogen (H) is the most abundant element.

Emission nebulae are huge masses of gas that absorb ultraviolet radiation from nearby hot stars and reradiate it as bright-line emission. The most famous example of an emission nebula is Messier Object 42 (M.42), the great nebula in Orion. Another is the Eta Carinae Nebula in the southern sky. The larger emission nebulae are most often associated with the very hot ‘O’ and ‘BO’ stars and may contain dense groups of these most luminous stars. The hot central stars in the emission nebulae often appear to have cleared away the dust from their immediate surrounding, creating a hole or dust-free bubble inside an otherwise dusty region of space (see the section on Solar Wind).