In the near future the Milky Way will be a conspiracy theory

In 2016, data showed that only 20% of the US population could see the Milky Way.

news.nationalgeographic.com...

The latest copy of Scientific American confirms that it's getting worse.

www.scientificamerican.com...

So, how long until the absence of stars leads to a generation that believes that there aren't many stars in the universe. Or more radically, that there is no such thing as the Milky Way, because they can't see it for themselves. If the only way to see our galaxy is by photos published by some "agency" then the conspiracy theories will run rampant.

We may need to start a grass roots program to save the Milky Way.

I'm still amazed by the magnificent photos I see my friends take of the Milky Way when they are on crazy nice vacations to these far away destinations. I'm not sure where you can actually see it from, I just know I don't suspect I've ever seen it. At least not like these people have. I even asked my mom when I was younger if the Milky Way was just a saying, because I'd never seen such a string of stars before in the sky except in photos. Then I asked if they were just artist renditions of what people think the Milky Way would look like.


Lol.

-Alee

a reply to: NerdGoddess

I have lived and grown up in Vermont (and spent a lot of time in Maine as well), and both places have very little light pollution which allows for glamorous night skies.

Check out this map for light pollution, maybe you can find a place you visit or close by that doesn't have too much light pollution: www.lightpollutionmap.info...

a reply to: cosmania

I get an awesome view of it from where I live along the border between the US and Canada..provided it's a clear night. No light pollution either because I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I had a decent nighttime camera I'd take some pics

The data will always show people see less, as we poison and intoxicate our atmosphere more and more with gases and light pollution.

Anyone who wants to see beyond the barrier of our atmosphere, should travel away from dense cities and industrial areas, and take a hike or camp in remote areas.

Our atmosphere pollution is constant and worsening everyday. We have not invested in technologies to reverse the pollution we do to the planet.

a reply to: cosmania

Regardless of how much light pollution blocks out stars, there will never be a time where stars or the Milky Way are conspiracies. For one, we still have access to photography. For two, light pollution doesn't have a 100% piercing rate of our atmosphere and won't ever have it. You can always go out on the ocean or the top of a mountain at night and see all the stars to your heart's content. Hell I used to star gaze while I was bored on guard duty during field exercises when I was in the Army and I was located in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma.

It's not like all these people living in urban areas clouded by light pollution can't ever drive out to the countryside and verify these things or something.

I live an hour west of London England rural (just about) and i can see the milky way with varying clarity
any non cloudy night and when the sky is just right i can just about make out the fuzzy patch of the Andromeda galaxy
drive a few miles south to Salisbury plain (nr Stonehenge) and its much better. and when im down in rural france
its breathtaking what can be seen with mk1 eyeball but the finest example of heavenly vista i have ever beheld
was from the top deck of a cruise ship midway between port everglades and Nassau it was truly magical the detail and
clarity of the sheer number of stars and the glow of the galaxy's gas clouds with the added bonus of pink and blue lightning from distant storms around the horizon will stay with be for the rest of my life .

i would imagine the vast areas of rural dessert and wilderness in the states the sky's can only be better for viewing
i have only experienced night time in the states around Orlando and Miami so i get it for those who never travel
far beyond the city limits it must be difficult to imagine whats above i pity them!

a reply to: cosmania

It probably IS disappearing into the black hole in the middle of it.

non-issue.

There are vast areas that are dark enough to see the Milky way (ever single ocean for one).

All anyone that ever doubts it needs to do is to go to one of these dark places, have a clear night, and look up.

originally posted by: ShayneJUK
I live an hour west of London England rural (just about) and i can see the milky way with varying clarity
any non cloudy night and when the sky is just right i can just about make out the fuzzy patch of the Andromeda galaxy
drive a few miles south to Salisbury plain (nr Stonehenge) and its much better. and when im down in rural france
its breathtaking what can be seen with mk1 eyeball but the finest example of heavenly vista i have ever beheld
was from the top deck of a cruise ship midway between port everglades and Nassau it was truly magical the detail and
clarity of the sheer number of stars and the glow of the galaxy's gas clouds with the added bonus of pink and blue lightning from distant storms around the horizon will stay with be for the rest of my life .

i would imagine the vast areas of rural dessert and wilderness in the states the sky's can only be better for viewing
i have only experienced night time in the states around Orlando and Miami so i get it for those who never travel
far beyond the city limits it must be difficult to imagine whats above i pity them!

I wonder if there is a certain visual you could get from Stonehenge. I mean, lets be honest, nobody really knows why it was there but people from those days felt a strong connection to the stars and gods and most likely tried many different things to speak to, or see them...

A friend of mine recently bought several hundred acres in New Mexico where there is practically zero light pollution. The view of the night sky is awesome. Cell phones don't even work out there.
The nearest neighbor is about 3 miles away.
I love the place.
We plan on building a ranch out there eventually.

I can see that happening. Dated a girl once who thought Alaska was a Island. Because every map she'd seen in school showed it down in the corner next to Hawaii.

There are some really breathtaking Milky Way time lapse videos on YT if anyone is interested...

The top video is Harley Grady's 4K video that features a nice space music track from Coronal Mass Ejection.

The lower video is Randy Halverson's 'Tempest Milky Way', filmed in South Dakota and won Best Overall at the 2011 Chronos Film Festival...

I can´t believe it because i am having some right now, and even pictures of them:

a reply to: DerBeobachter

That looks like the 3 Musketeers candy bars over here.

Here's what our Milky Way looks like.

a reply to: DerBeobachter

What about the galaxy? Is that real too?


I’ve only seen real Milky Way once it was in August in the uk. It was breathtaking, I recommend everyone should see it in real life as well. The photos are great but don’t compare to laying down on your back and taking it all in with your own eyes.

If you get the app stelarium you should be able to easily work out what time of night and at what time of year is best to view it near you. Check the weather for a clear night and then head to somewhere with no light pollution.

The northern lights are great in person too, the shimmering movement is mesmerising.

a reply to: surfer_soul
Too sad that i live in cologne, too much light and environmental pollution here, no milky way to see.
But i remember a night at the beach in the netherlands, i couldn´t stop watching the milky way.
Then a buddy of mine showed me pics from namibia(he worked there for two years), in the desert, that was almost unreal to see.
I never saw such a milky way, i never saw so much stars.

I hate light pollution now!

I live in rural Alabama, about 15 miles from the city limits of a nearby city of 300,000 people. I can walk out my door, look up, and see the Milky Way just fine on any clear night where the moon isn't too bright.

Growing up, I lived in that nearby city, and could do the same there. Not so anymore. The light pollution has won.

Out where I'm at, an 8" Newtonian reflector on a clear night is all kinds of fun.

a reply to: cosmania

I totally agree that when the time comes that cities cover the earth or that the people living on earth don't leave the cities, This will happen.

I will never for get the day when I told a friend of mine that if we went camping that night it would be clear enough to see the milky way. My friend laughed at me and said you can't see the milky way because we are inside of it.

I appreciate all the optimism here. My thought is that very simple things are denied because people can't see for themselves. When the vast majority of people can no longer see the Milky Way, to them, it won't be there. While I agree, a simple trip on the ocean would solve that problem, most people won't go.

You watch, in 20 years, we'll have Flat Earthers, Chemtrailers, and MWDs (Milky Way Deniers).