This image shows the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) at the heart of the Milky Way — a region rich in dense, complex gas clouds — as mapped by ALMA as part of the ACES survey. The inset image shows the ACES simulation in which different molecules are marked with different colors. This is the largest mapping ever made by ALMA, spanning an angular span of about three full moons side by side in the sky. (Credit: ALMA ‏(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) /‏ S. Longmore et al.; Background: ESO /‏ D. Minniti et al.).

This image shows the **Central Molecular Zone (CMZ)** at the heart of the Milky Way — a region rich in dense, complex gas clouds — as mapped by **ALMA** as part of the **ACES** survey. The inset image shows the ACES simulation in which different molecules are marked with different colors. This is the largest mapping ever made by ALMA, spanning an angular span of about three full moons side by side in the sky. (Credit: ALMA ‏(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) /‏ S. Longmore et al.; Background: ESO /‏ D. Minniti et al.).