Small long-serving satellite observes ammonia emission from the center of our galaxy

(Phys.org)—Completing its 16th year in orbit, a small Swedish astrophysics and aeronomy satellite named “Odin” has proven that it is still capable of carrying out important observations of space. The spacecraft has lately observed ammonia (NH3) emissions from an astronomical radio source known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A* for short) at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The results of these observations were published January 10 in a paper available on arXiv.org.