  Evidence from a variety of sources points towards the existence of a bar in
the central few kpc of the Galaxy. The measurements roughly agree on the
direction of the bar major axis, but other parameters (axis ratio, size,
pattern speed) are still poorly determined. Current dynamical models are
limited by the quality of hydro simulations, the degeneracy of stellar orbit
models, stellar-kinematic data and the significant lopsidedness of the central
kpc. Microlensing promises new constraints on the mass distribution in the
bulge/bar region.

Astrophysics