Have you ever seen your galaxy?
From Earth, the Milky Way appears as a hazy river of light. Yet more than one-third of people can’t see it from home because of light pollution.Milky Way: Why Most People Never See It
Why it hides
The Milky Way has low surface brightness. The sky must be darker than about 20.2 mag/arcsec² to reveal it. In cities it vanishes; under rural skies it blazes.Milky Way: Why Most People Never See It
