How do people see the Milky Way?

I'm 49 and have never, ever seen it - even when I've been in some places with minimal light pollution. I'm off to the Trossachs next month so light pollution should be low. Can you see it with the naked eye?

You can see it with the naked eye given a decent dark sky, but don't expect the same quality you get from good astro-photography, Saint. Places like Keilder Forest are good - well away from light. I've seen it well in out of the way places. A useful article here:

https://www.countryfile.com/how-to/outdoor-skills/stargazing-guide-britains-dark-sky-locations-best-places-to-stargaze-plus-how-to-get-started/

 

Roger

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You can see it with the naked eye given a decent dark sky, but don't expect the same quality you get from good astro-photography, Saint. Places like Keilder Forest are good - well away from light. I've seen it well in out of the way places. A useful article here:

https://www.countryfile.com/how-to/outdoor-skills/stargazing-guide-britains-dark-sky-locations-best-places-to-stargaze-plus-how-to-get-started/

 

Roger

 

Thanks, Roger. I've been to a few of those places but never got even a hint of the milky way in the skies.

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Thanks, Roger. I've been to a few of those places but never got even a hint of the milky way in the skies.

The secret is to lie face up and not face down when you are pissed, Saint!

 

Actually - the real secret is to know where to look in the sky.

My preferred references are Stellarium or Paul Money's monthly website Astrospace.

https://stellarium-web.org/

or

http://www.astrospace.co.uk/Astrospace/monthly-sky/monthlynightsky.html

 

Roger

 

 

 

 

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I think a lot of it Martin is in the camera you use and how you process the images. More so than you might think.

Post-processing is a big part of astrophotography, because your camera will capture a low-contrast sky that needs some work as this article describes. I've yet to try it. The moon is an easy subject though and far less work.

https://photographylife.com/landscapes/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way

 

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The secret is to lie face up and not face down when you are pissed, Saint!

 

 

Damn! Knew there was something amiss.

 

 

Thanks for the links; will check them out

 

 

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I think a lot of it Martin is in the camera you use and how you process the images. More so than you might think.

Post-processing is a big part of astrophotography, because your camera will capture a low-contrast sky that needs some work as this article describes. I've yet to try it. The moon is an easy subject though and far less work.

https://photographylife.com/landscapes/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way

 

 

Cheers. My interest isn't really to photograph it, but just to see what it looks like. By all accounts, you should be able to see it with the naked eye if the light pollution is absent - or have I got that wrong?

 

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Cheers. My interest isn't really to photograph it, but just to see what it looks like. By all accounts, you should be able to see it with the naked eye if the light pollution is absent - or have I got that wrong?

 

Anywhere well away from extraneous lighting should easily make the Milky Way visible. Believe it or not when I was a lad I could see it OK from our back garden in SE London but no chance these days

I stayed in a lodge in the middle of Capitol Reef National Park in the USA  a couple of years ago and the view of the stars and the Milky Way was absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately it was absolutely pitch black and I then walked into a rock on my way back indoors !

 

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Here's another Space phenomenon that's difficult to observe, Saint....Zodiacal Light

NASA's Juno spacecraft has made a surprising discovery. Mars appears to be leaking dust, filling a huge volume of interplanetary space with glowing debris. We can see the resulting cloud with our naked eyes; it's called "Zodiacal Light."

See:
A Big Glowing Cloud of Marsdust
https://spaceweather.com/

Roger

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Here's another Space phenomenon that's difficult to observe, Saint....Zodiacal Light

NASA's Juno spacecraft has made a surprising discovery. Mars appears to be leaking dust, filling a huge volume of interplanetary space with glowing debris. We can see the resulting cloud with our naked eyes; it's called "Zodiacal Light."

See:
A Big Glowing Cloud of Marsdust
https://spaceweather.com/

Roger

 

Something else I'll not be able to see 

 

I have the Sky Safari app on my phone that I've used in the past. Best places I've used it (it terms of minimal light pollution) are the Yorkshire Dales and semi-rural Spain. The view of stars was hugely improved in both cases, but didn't see the Milky Way, as I've said.

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Something else I'll not be able to see 

 

I have the Sky Safari app on my phone that I've used in the past. Best places I've used it (it terms of minimal light pollution) are the Yorkshire Dales and semi-rural Spain. The view of stars was hugely improved in both cases, but didn't see the Milky Way, as I've said.

It's very faint. You won't see it at first, but when eyes starts to become accustomed to the very dark (it can be up to 30 mins), it starts to appear as a faint 'line' or cluster of stars, spanning across the sky. 

Unfortunately, it will never appear as detailed as it would do from photographs, which requires a good camera (a DSLR or even a latest smartphone) & post processing software.

Good luck next time. You should use a red light torch to see where you are going, to keep your eyes accustomed to darkness.

Here's something to aim for, Saint! Well beyond me. Wow!

Your pictures on the theme of 'under the stars'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-57864019

Roger

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Hubble seems to be shutting down. 

https://phys.org/news/2021-06-hubble-space-telescope-science-halted.html.

 

Excellent news

It's been got going again

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57885865

 

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Excellent news

It's been got going again

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57885865

 

Great! 

Your package has been delivered.

In a move that pours cold water on the dreams of a few billionaire space explorers, the US has tightened its definition of the word "astronaut".

Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson not yet astronauts, US says
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57950149 

Roger

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Your package has been delivered.



Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson not yet astronauts, 

But they are arseholes

They could have paid to vaccinate the whole world against Covid and still had some change left over

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Your package has been delivered.

In a move that pours cold water on the dreams of a few billionaire space explorers, the US has tightened its definition of the word "astronaut".

Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson not yet astronauts, US says
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57950149

Roger

One thing I find odd is they have spent decades getting to suborbital flight with current technology. On the other hand Kennedy put man on the moon in 7 years using a fraction of the computing power which many watches now have.  

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One thing I find odd is they have spent decades getting to suborbital flight with current technology. On the other hand Kennedy put man on the moon in 7 years using a fraction of the computing power which many watches now have.  

True, Brian - and a humbling thought. I have to say I liked the mental picture of Branson and Besos being little more than expensive parcels to be delivered. Left with your neighbour, perhaps?

R

 

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I'd have liked to see this one!

Meteor wows Norway after blazing through night sky
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-57962384 

Roger

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Heads up for the Perseids!

Perseids peak - Aug. 12 - incoming now.

Meteor Shower Guide 2021
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/best-meteor-showers-in-2021/

A beginner’s guide to meteor showers
https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/a-beginners-guide-to-meteor-showers/

Roger

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Solar activity: Possible Geomagnetic Storm? Great clip.
"SOLAR TSUNAMI AND CME: An explosion on the sun yesterday produced a massive "solar tsunami" and a CME apparently heading for Earth. The eruption was accompanied by a loud clap of radio static, which roared from the loudspeakers of shortwave radios in North America."

https://spaceweather.com/

Roger

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