THE MILKY WAY

From Jim Kaler's STARS

We live in a disk-shaped Galaxy of some 200 billion stars that we see around us as the broad white band of the Milky Way. Since we are halfway or more out toward the Galaxy's ill-defined edge, the Milky Way varies considerably in brightness from the glorious broad center in Sagittarius to the far dimmer, dusty Anticenter 180 degrees away in Taurus-Auriga.

The Milky Way is inclined to the celestial equator by 63 degrees, crossing it in Monoceros and Aquila-Serpens- Ophiuchus. By remarkable coincidence, the Winter and Summer Solstices in Sagittariius and Gemini are respectively nearly in the same directions as are the Galactic Center and Aniticenter. (Because of the 26,000-year precession of the Earth's axis, around 1940 the Summer Solstice crossed over the modern border with Taurus, where it now technically resides. The Solstice, however, is closer to the classical figure of Gemini than it is to Taurus, so out of tradition and a desire for symmetry, it's usually said still to be in Gemini.)

Enjoy the view, which is meant to match that more or less seen with the naked eye. Follow along with the Constellation Maps.

• Begin with the most northerly constellation of the Milky Way (as defined by the Galaxy's equator), Cassiopeia, where the starry stream shines brightly (Map 1).
• End with the most southerly, the Milky Way streaming gloriously through Crux, the Southern Cross (Map 6).

Two Pathways

South and east of Cassiopeia toward the Anticenter.

• The Milky Way first runs faintly through Perseus past the Alpha Persei cluster.
  • Map 1
  • Map 3
• See it in wide angle through Cassiopeia and Perseus.
  • Map 1
  • Map 3
• Then follow it through to the Anticenter in Auriga.
  • Map 3
• Just south of Auriga, it passes into the dark clouds of neighboring Taurus.
  • Map 3
• Fainter yet, it drifts through the lower part of Gemini.
  • Map 3
• Then the Milky Way gets nearly lost as it goes past Canis Minor and crosses the celestial equator in Monoceros to the east of Orion.
  • Map 3
  • Map 4
• After dropping by Canis Major,
  • Map 3
  • Map 4
• it brightens into Argo's Puppis and Vela.
  • Map 3
  • Map 4
  • Map 6
• It then streams through Carina
  • Map 4
  • Map 6
• on its way to Crux (the Southern Cross) and southern Centaurus, whence it climbs back north again.
  • Map 4
  • Map 5
  • Map 6

South and west of Cassiopeia toward the Galaxy's Center

• From Cassiopeia, the Milky Way flows weakly to the west through southern Cepheus, where much of it hidden behind dark clouds.
  • Map 1
  • Map 2
• To the south of Cepheus, it also passes through the modern constellation Lacerta.
  • Map 2
• The Milky Way then massively brightens as it plunges south through Cygnus.
  • Map 2
• To the west of Cygnus, it also passes through part of Lyra,
  • Map 2
  • Map 5
• where it is better seen in an expanded view.
  • Map 2
  • Map 5
• After dividing in Cygnus at the Great Rift, the eastern branch of the Milky Way passes beautifully through Aquila, where it crosses the celestial equator.
  • Map 2
  • Map 5
• A wide-angle view of the setting Summer Triangle shows a broader, more dramatic picture of the Milky Way through Cygnus and Aquila.
  • Map 2
• A similar wide-angle view shows the Milky Way within the rising Summer Triangle.
  • Map 2
• The dimmer western branch is here barely visible in Serpens and Ophiuchus.
  • Map 5
• South of Aquila, the Milky Way brightens into the striking star clouds of Scutum.
  • Map 5
• See it again through Scutum and southern Aquila.
  • Map 2
  • Map 5
• The Milky Way brightens dramatically from Scutum to northern Sagittarius, where it is filled with bright, reddish nebulae.
  • Map 5
• At last, the Milky Way greatly broadens as it enters Sagittarius, its dark clouds hiding the Galaxy's actual center.
  • Map 5
• Which is seen in close-up, along with the vast rift of dusty clouds and nearly a dozen Messier objects.
  • Map 5
• The western side is glorious through central and southern Scorpius.
  • Map 5
• See it in a broader view in Scutum, Sagittarius, and Scorpius that shows the magnificent dusty rift.
  • Map 5
• See it again in another wide view from southern Aquila through eastern Lupus also features the great rift of dust.
  • Map 5
• To the south of Sagittarius, the Milky Way goes through Corona Australis.
  • Map 5
• The main portion then plunges south of Scorpius and into Ara;
  • Map 5
  • Map 6
• While to the west of Ara, it goes through Norma (and its colorful clouds).
  • Map 5
  • Map 6
• In the deep south, find it glorious in Triangulum Australe and Circinus.
  • Map 6
• After which it passes through the southern centerpiece in southern Centaurus and Crux (the Southern Cross), and then climbs back north, the circle closed.
  • Map 4
  • Map 5
  • Map 6

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