Milky Way
From Slackerpedia Galactica
The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day
In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour,
Of the galaxy we call the Milky Way.
Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars.
It's a hundred thousand light years side to side.
It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick,
But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide.
We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point.
We go 'round every two hundred million years,
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe.
- The Galaxy Song, Monty Python (Written by Eric Idle)
The beauty of the song is that he got his facts straight. It's an example of good astronomy. Sure, in the 25 years since he wrote it some of the numbers have been tweaked, and astronomers will probably always debate the number of stars in the galaxy, but the gist is as right as can be expected.
Viewing the Milky Way
The Milky Way is an awe inspiring site first-hand.
In any dark location on Earth the average human Mark I Eyeball can see the Milky Way easily. It looks like a faint cloud that stretches from horizon to horizon. From very dark locations most people can see shapes and structure, coming mainly from the dust lanes.
The Milky Way is brightest seen from the southern hemisphere during June through August. This is because the Earth is tilted against the plane of the Milky Way in such a way as the center of the galaxy (where most of the stars are) is to the South. In the northern hemisphere the Milky Way can be best seen in late summer by looking to the south east, beginning with the constellation Cygnus (the Swan) and going down into Sagittarius (the Teapot).
With binoculars, aim towards Sagittarius and just let your eyes wander over the constellation. There are tons of faint fuzzies in the Teapot, including the impressive Triffid Nebula. Southern observers would get a kick out of looking at the homunculus in Carina.
External Links
- Lyrics to Under the Milky Way Tonight a famous song by 80's one-hit-wonder The Church
