Gazing into the heart of our home galaxy – the Milky Way – is an unrivalled experience for people looking at Australia’s night sky.
In the ABC’s National Science Week poll – results announced last week – the Milky Way beat auroras, moonbows and ‘stargazing at a dark sky location’ to take out the crown as the most amazing thing to see in the night sky.
“It shows how much people love to just go out and enjoy a dark view out into the cosmos, and see our home galaxy,” says astronomer Brad Tucker.
Marnie Ogg, founder of the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance (ADSA), agrees the Milky Way absolutely deserves to win, recalling a time she saw it near Siding Springs Observatory that gave her “goosepimples”.
“The stars looked so sharp, they looked like they could fall from the sky and would pierce the earth below us if they did. Every star in the Milky Way was vivid, only highlighting the patch of dust clouds that make up the Emu in the Sky.”
“The beauty, and the majestic conditions will stay in my mind forever.”
While being “Under the Milky Way” (as The Church sings) is an amazing experience, it’s one many of us have to travel for. Light pollution means that a large proportion of Australians are unable to see the Milky Way from their home.
But firstly, what exactly is the Milky Way?
Can you see the Milky Way where you live? Let the ABC and scientists know by filling out the survey at the end of this story.
The Milk Way is our home galaxy
The thick band of stars that stretches across the night sky is what most of us refer to as the Milky Way.
What we’re actually seeing are the arms of our home galaxy – the Milky Way – which is a barred spiral galaxy containing maybe 100–400 billion stars, one of which is our sun.
Our galaxy is flat, like a pancake, explains Kirsten Banks, an astrophysicist, science communicator and keen stargazer.
If our galaxy wasn’t flat we wouldn’t have the gorgeous band of stars and dust lanes across the sky, she says.
Throughout the year our view of the Milky Way changes.
And at the moment it’s particularly spectacular, as we’re looking into the bright core or heart of the galaxy, rich with plenty of stunning star clusters, gas clouds and constellations, such as Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, and Serpens.
One of the most spectacular constellations doesn’t even involve stars. The Emu in the Sky is a famous Indigenous constellation made up of the dark parts of the Milky Way galaxy.
“We call it Gugurmin. It’s incredible. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it,” Dr Banks, who is a Wiradjuri woman, said.
Most of us will need to travel
Unfortunately, the Milky Way is not visible right across Australia. In many urban locations, there’s too much light pollution to see the dust and star clusters that make up the Milky Way and dark-sky constellations like the Emu in the Sky.
You’ll need to head somewhere mostly free of light pollution, which means getting away from cities.
But you probably won’t need to go too far – you can see the Milky Way from most rural or regional areas (excluding larger towns), and it gets better at remote areas.
https://www.abc.net.au/interactives/innovation-lab/light-pollution/?abcnewsembedheight=665&abcnewsembedheightmobile=600#bortlesky
The Milky Way can be seen at almost any time of the year, so long as the skies are clear.
But if you go outside around 9pm at this time of year you’ll see it stretching right across the sky from the south to the north, with the deepest part directly above your head.
The best time to view the Milky Way is when the moon is either below the horizon, or not very full, as the bright light of the moon can wash out the dimmer Milky Way.
Currently the moon is almost full, so you might want to wait a couple of weeks to get the best view.
But the absolute best place to see the Milky Way is a dark sky park or location. Australia currently has six dark sky designated places, with more in progress.
And when you’re there, it’s surprisingly easy to use your smartphone to capture a glorious photo of the Milky Way.
Why can’t I see the Milky Way where I live?
Light pollution is the reason most of us in Australia can’t see the Milky Way from home.
It occurs in areas where “sky glow” – caused by light from artificial sources – is so powerful it overpowers light emitted by stars.
How brightly the sky glows is related to the number, intensity and design of artificial lights.
The good news is light pollution can be reduced with the use of smart controls and by changing the way we use lighting at night.
See the Milky Way appear as you change suburban light settings
https://www.abc.net.au/interactives/innovation-lab/light-pollution/?abcnewsembedheight=680&abcnewsembedheightmobile=650#lighttoggle
Light pollution is a growing problem around the world, with estimates of almost 80 per cent of people living under light-polluted skies and the Milky Way no longer visible to a third of people globally.
Australia has the lowest proportion of land area affected by light pollution among G20 countries but one of the highest rates of light pollution per person (surpassing the US, Russia, Japan, the UK, and France).
Still, Australia is in a good position to address light pollution before it gets to North American and European levels.
Which means, hopefully, we’ll continue to enjoy gazing at the glorious Milky Way into the future.
Interactive notes and credits: Both interactives are based on the Bortle scale, as well as results from Dr Tucker’s experiments in Canberra. The lighting change interactive is based on a hypothetical suburban area with a Bortle scale level of 7 with light pollution sources: street lights (50 per cent); house lights (40 per cent); sport lights (10 per cent). Solutions to light pollution: changing street lights to LED (50 per cent reduction in light pollution from that source); dimming street lights to 70 per cent (15 per cent reduction); changing sport lights from cool to warm LEDs (15 per cent reduction); shielding outside lights (50 per cent reduction). Concept and production: Kylie Andrews; Development: Andrew Hystek-Dunk, Matthew Heffernan; Production: Chloe Brice; Expert advice: Dr Brad Tucker.
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