Recent surveys of the sky in near-infrared light, which penetrates the dust clouds that block our view of the galactic core, have revealed the bar directly and dispelled the remaining doubts.

• 近红外光可穿透挡住我们视线的尘云，而最近的近红外光巡天观测银河系核心的结果，直接显现了棒状结构，也就排除了其他的可能。