Carbon monoxide (CO), the same compound found in automobile emissions, is widely distributed throughout our galaxy. The map shows the emission of carbon monoxide in radio radiation with a wavelength of 5 millimeters. (The faintest emissions are represented as blue, the brightest are white.) The emissions are mapped according to the galactic latitude-longitude grid: the center line is the plane of the galaxy, along which longitude is measured; latitude denotes the distance in degrees above and below the plane.
By mapping carbon monoxide clouds, astronomers can determine how matter is distributed in our galaxy. This map, for example, indicates that most of the Milky WayΓÇÖs carbon monoxide emissions
