Abstract
Recent observations1,2 have revealed point sources at wavelengths 0.7–1.0 µm and 1–5 µm, which are approximately aligned with the compact non-thermal radio source SgrA* in the galactic centre. The assembled 0.7–5 µm data indicate that the two point sources are at the same position and have spectral continuity; they are thus probably the same object. Here we discuss alternative interpretations of this infrared point source. If it is a foreground star, it must be a hot star surrounded by a circumstellar dust cloud. If it is an object at the galactic centre, an unorthodox extinction curve is required to derive an intrinsically hot black-body spectral distribution, Fνα ν2, over the 0.7–3.5 µm wavelength range. Under these circumstances the infrared emission may be the Rayleigh–Jeans tail of a hot star or star cluster, or thermal accretion disk with temperature ≃35 × 103 K.
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Stein, W., Forrest, W. Infrared point sources aligned with the SgrA* non-thermal radio source. Nature 323, 232–234 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323232a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323232a0
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