milky way

Milky Way Galaxy

FEBRUARY 6, 2011

When watching the constellations in the night sky we can see a faint whitish band of light stretching across the sky in a generally north-south direction at certain times of the year. This band of light is the famous Milky Way or Akash Ganga. Although we may not realize it when we look at it with the unaided eye, the Milky Way is really made up of countless billions of stars. We can make out the stars as tiny dots of light on looking through a pair of binoculars or a telescope.

Inspired during a visit to Fort Davis, Texas, home of McDonald Observatory and dark night skies, photographer Larry Landolfi created this tantalizing fantasy view. The composited image suggests the Milky Way is a heavenly extension of a deserted country road. Image-credit:nasa.gov

Milky Way – Akash Ganga

In the night sky, the Milky Way appears to pass through a number of prominent constellations. From Cassiopeia in the north it runs south through Perseus, Auriga, Taurus, and between Gemini and Orion towards the Southern Cross. Then it turns north, passing through Scorpius, Sagittarius, Aquila and Cygnus back to Cassiopeia. If we observe carefully we will notice that the outlines of the Milky Way are irregular; its width varies widely along its length and its brightness changes from point to point. In some areas it appears to be split into two parallel streaks.

Viewing the Milky Way in India

An interesting point here is that 16 of the 21 first magnitude stars (except Achernar, Spica, Arcturus, Regulus and Fomalhaut) lie within, or close to, the Milky Way. When they are visible, so also should be the Milky Way. But, unfortunately, in cities the glare of lights and pollution almost completely blots it out except when the sky is exceptionally clear, for instance, after the monsoon rains, or when there is a total power failure!