avoidance, zone of

Region of apparent absence of galaxies near the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy. Millions of external galaxies are in this region of the sky but are obscured by interstellar dust within the Milky Way. The zone's obscuration can be penetrated at the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. See also infrared astronomy.

Find more information on avoidance, zone of. Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on avoidance, zone of.