<P> Harlow Shapley stated in 1918 that the halo of globular clusters surrounding the Milky Way seemed to be centered on the star swarms in the constellation of Sagittarius , but the dark molecular clouds in the area blocked the view for optical astronomers . In the early 1940s Walter Baade at Mount Wilson Observatory took advantage of wartime blackout conditions in nearby Los Angeles to conduct a search for the center with the 100 inch Hooker Telescope . He found that near the star Alnasl ( Gamma Sagittarii ) there is a one - degree - wide void in the interstellar dust lanes , which provides a relatively clear view of the swarms of stars around the nucleus of our Milky Way Galaxy . This gap has been known as Baade 's Window ever since . </P>
<P> Harlow Shapley stated in 1918 that the halo of globular clusters surrounding the Milky Way seemed to be centered on the star swarms in the constellation of Sagittarius , but the dark molecular clouds in the area blocked the view for optical astronomers . In the early 1940s Walter Baade at Mount Wilson Observatory took advantage of wartime blackout conditions in nearby Los Angeles to conduct a search for the center with the 100 inch Hooker Telescope . He found that near the star Alnasl ( Gamma Sagittarii ) there is a one - degree - wide void in the interstellar dust lanes , which provides a relatively clear view of the swarms of stars around the nucleus of our Milky Way Galaxy . This gap has been known as Baade 's Window ever since . </P>
who discovered the center of the milky way galaxy
who discovered the center of the milky way galaxy
Walter Baade
Walter Baade