Abstract

Observations of the thermal emission from dust grains in the inner Galaxy are used to determine the total bolometric luminosity of the central parsec; a value in the range of 1−3×10 L is obtained. Much of this luminosity originates in the source which ionises the gas in the HII region Sgr A. The dust density in the central parsec is very low, providing much less than one magnitude of visual extinction across this volume. Maps of infrared color temperature show that the grains are heated by a luminosity source which is centrally concentrated about the position of the galactic nucleus.

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