Seeing the Milky Way ??

[thunderbird]

Ok as promised here’s a stupid question. I hope its inthe right place

I understand that we are in the Milky Way galaxy which is a spiral galaxy and we are on the local spur on the Orion arm and that all the star we can see with the naked eye are in this galaxy .

So far so good BUT then I read that we can see the Milky Way as a fuzzy line which splits the night sky. Now what confuses me is if we’re in it how can we see it and how is it so small ? I imagine our solar system is in a big bent tube with stars all around it so if we’re in the tube how can we see the tube ? Is it another spur that we are looking at or does it just look small because of our distance from the centre.

I hope I haven’t embarrassed myself , as I’ve got loads more questions like this

[pvaz]

Imagine it as a huge flat disk, made of dots spread apart. We are in one of this dots (our solar system). As we look out we see a circle of stars going around us, which are the closer dots (a mere fraction of maybe 5-10% of the galaxy) in the disk we are in.

here's a pic of the milky way as seen with the nake eye (or close, long exposures do get more definition and a bit of color)

[LukeSkywatcher]

Paulo, I assume those other objects are the LMC and the SMC?.

[yeti monster]

They are cactuses Paul!

[LukeSkywatcher]

They are cactuses Paul!

Ahhhhhh now you mention it.

Sorry my mistake.

P.S.~~the plural of cactus is cactii.

*neener neener neener*

[Canyouguesswhoitisyet]

I have never seen the sky look like that with the naked eye. Here in the UK or anywhere I have travelled. I reckon its time for me to take an eyesite test!

Nice photo.

[pvaz]

It's a long exposure and shows a bit more then you can see naked eye, but still it was the closest one I managed to find in a quick google search.

You can see close to that in a very dark site with a clear sky.

[bamus]

I have never seen the sky look like that with the naked eye. Here in the UK or anywhere I have travelled. I reckon its time for me to take an eyesite test!

Nice photo.

you should try middle of the Atlantic Ocean, MW looks over there even better than on this picture

[Canyouguesswhoitisyet]

Ha-Ha Bamus. Last time I went on a yacht we sailed straight into a Tornado! A near death experience I will never forget. :-)

[bamus]

Ha-Ha Bamus. Last time I went on a yacht we sailed straight into a Tornado! A near death experience I will never forget. :-)

you should pick bigger boat

[pete_l]

I have never seen the

sky look like that with the naked eye. Here in the UK or anywhere I

have travelled. I reckon its time for me to take an eyesite test!

I would humbly suggest you (nor anyone else) ever would

This is closer to what a british-standard eyeball would see in the very darkest places

and even with this, there are stars down to > mag 7

[Nexus 6]

I would humbly suggest you (nor anyone else) ever would

This is closer to what a british-standard eyeball would see in the very darkest places

and even with this, there are stars down to > mag 7

yup, you can see it like that in the middle of Bodmin Moor, I did! On a good night I can make it out here at home but its only a faint tease compared to views like the one above.

[LukeSkywatcher]

The best view i have had of it from my garden was a couple of yrs ago. I thought it was thin cloud stretching across the sky. Never seen it like that before or since.

[ollypenrice]

Where I live the MW is a good deal brighter than in the picture above. It is a broad stripe, entirely unmistakable, like a long bright cloud.

Imagine living half way along the spoke of a cosmic bicycle wheel which is densely packed with stars for some reason. When you look towards the rim or the hub you are looking through lots of stars. When you look out of the plane of the wheel, eg parallel with the axle, you look through only a slim section of stars.

The view to the rim or the hub is the view of the Milky Way.

Olly

[Sparrow]

Just to add to Olly's description above, this is why the winter night sky tends to be the "nebula" season - as our night sky is pointing more to within the galaxy, whereas the summer season tends to be the "galaxy" season where we are looking more to the less dense areas of the Milky Way and can therefor see more of the galaxies beyond our own.

[ollypenrice]

Just to add to Olly's description above, this is why the winter night sky tends to be the "nebula" season - as our night sky is pointing more to within the galaxy, whereas the summer season tends to be the "galaxy" season where we are looking more to the less dense areas of the Milky Way and can therefor see more of the galaxies beyond our own.

Summer is not very dark in the UK but it is the real nebula season here at lat 44. The MW is overhead so all the star forming regions are on or around the zenith. Even on the shortest nights we get four hours of astronomical darkness.

The galaxy season is the Spring when I wish I had an imaging rig with a 4 metre focal length!

Olly