Overview
- The ACES survey stitched numerous ALMA observations into a 650 light‑year panorama of the Central Molecular Zone, the array’s largest mosaic to date.
- Researchers mapped dozens of molecules across the region, from silicon monoxide to complex organics such as methanol, acetone and ethanol.
- The image shows widespread thread‑like filaments that appear to funnel gas into dense clouds, alongside cavities and bubbles from stellar explosions.
- The dataset enables detailed charts of gas flows, turbulence and chemistry from the galactic core down to individual star‑forming clumps.
- An international team led by Steven Longmore reports the results in peer‑reviewed work published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.