Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is a sight to behold at night, but it is visible only in the darkest parts of the world at certain times of year. Here's how you can find the Milky Way.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 The night sky teams with thousands upon thousands of stars.
00:09 From meteor showers to our home galaxy, the Milky Way,
00:13 stargazers love the magic of the night sky.
00:17 The Milky Way is home to every star you see at night,
00:20 but the galaxy itself is not always visible.
00:24 That's because most people live near a city
00:26 with light polluted skies.
00:29 Some people have never even seen the Milky Way.
00:32 To find the Milky Way, you'll have to travel
00:34 to a dark location away from city lights.
00:37 Let your eyes adjust to the dark for at least 30 minutes.
00:41 If you must use light, use a red filtered light
00:44 to protect your night vision.
00:46 The Milky Way's best feature is its galactic center,
00:50 which is congested with billions of stars.
00:53 It will appear like a stream of milk across the sky,
00:56 hence its name.
00:58 This region of our galaxy is visible in June,
01:01 July, and August when Earth's night side faces
01:05 the galactic center during its orbit around the sun.
01:08 In December, January, and February,
01:10 Earth's night side faces away from the galactic center,
01:14 out into deep space with only one
01:16 of its outer spiral arms visible.
01:19 For AccuWeather, I'm Christina Shalhoub.
01:21 (music)