Posted: March 10th, 2017

describe what you saw, and compare it to what you think ancient people would have seen. Would you have called it “the Milky Way,” or might you have chosen a different name?

Use your SkyGazer software to help you plan another observation. This time when you go outside, look for the plane of the Milky Way in the sky (you may have to make a special trip to somewhere relatively dark to be successful). Then, in a 2-3 paragraph essay, describe what you saw, and compare it to what you think ancient people would have seen. Would you have called it “the Milky Way,” or might you have chosen a different name? How does what we see in the sky compare with our current knowledge of the Galaxy’s structure?