I am going to Glacier National Park at the end of June. I am an astronomy geek, and i was wondering whether i can see the milky way arm from there. Also, I am wondering, when you see the arm of the milky way, what is it? Does it look milky because it is so far away, we cannot make out the individual stars? And finally, would i also be able to see the Andromeda Galaxy with bare eyes or a small telescope?(not a fancy expensive one, if you read me here)
-
The area around Duck Lake, in northern Montana, just east of the bounds of Glacier National Park has exceptionally dark skies and tremendous seeing.
You will be able to see the Milky Way. It will look extremely bright. The sky will be filled with stars to the extent that constellations that are normally easily visible will be masked by hundreds of dimmer stars that will stand out.
The Milky Way is simply our galaxy. What we see in the sky is the combined light of billions of stars that are so far away they are individually invisible to the eye. Because of our location in the Milky Way, it appears to surround us and looks like it wraps around the sky. It is thickest toward the center which is located in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, though thousands of light years farther away than the stars which make up the constellation.
Yes, you'll be able to see the Andromeda galaxy without binoculars or a telescope, if you know where to look. Practically everything that you've read about in books will be visible to the eye or binoculars in those skies. Provided of course, the sky isn't cloudy.
Last summer, I went to Cherry Springs State Park in north central Pennsylvania. Just before sunset, there were strings of clouds left over from a rain storm. As the Sun set, it looked as though the sky was going to be cloud covered all night, until I realized that the "cloud" I was looking at was the Milky Way at its most glorious, so bright it looked like the light pollution that I'm used to in my city at home.
You will be able to see the Milky Way. It will look extremely bright. The sky will be filled with stars to the extent that constellations that are normally easily visible will be masked by hundreds of dimmer stars that will stand out.
The Milky Way is simply our galaxy. What we see in the sky is the combined light of billions of stars that are so far away they are individually invisible to the eye. Because of our location in the Milky Way, it appears to surround us and looks like it wraps around the sky. It is thickest toward the center which is located in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, though thousands of light years farther away than the stars which make up the constellation.
Yes, you'll be able to see the Andromeda galaxy without binoculars or a telescope, if you know where to look. Practically everything that you've read about in books will be visible to the eye or binoculars in those skies. Provided of course, the sky isn't cloudy.
Last summer, I went to Cherry Springs State Park in north central Pennsylvania. Just before sunset, there were strings of clouds left over from a rain storm. As the Sun set, it looked as though the sky was going to be cloud covered all night, until I realized that the "cloud" I was looking at was the Milky Way at its most glorious, so bright it looked like the light pollution that I'm used to in my city at home.
12
keywords: Park,sky,Glacier,National,Question,Night,Night sky Question? Glacier National Park