first time seeing it

[sheebert239]

A couple days ago my area had clear skies, I took a trip down to the observatory, stayed there pretty late (around 2 ish) and I saw the milky way for the first time. It was definitely not what I expected, but still really cool. It looked kind of like a strange elongated cloud shaped like a river with a lot of stars in it. Was this the milky way that I saw, or just some random cloud. Thanks guys

[swamp thing]

Sounds like it. The darker the sky the better it looks.

[Josh_Barker]

I remember my first time seeing it, first time I'd gone far enough away that there was no light pollution, and had an argument for about five minutes as to if it was a cloud or not. Can't wait to go to a dark sky reserve and see it in all its glory

[astronymonkey]

The milky way from a dark site, after a few hours of proper dark adaption, is absolutely stunning. Even the dark patches jump out and constellations like cygnus get lost in the haze.

awsome sight.

[cotterless45]

A breathtaking sight , whatever your gear, dark sky is king,

Nick.