THE MILKY WAY

Strip

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.






Two Pathways

Southeast toward the Galaxy's Anticenter in Taurus/Auriga Map 3; Map 4
Southwest toward the Galaxy's Center in Sagittarius Map 2; Map 5


South and east of Cassiopeia toward the Anticenter.


South and west of Cassiopeia toward the Galaxy's Center



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