Beginning around this time of year, we can look up in the late evening sky to see edgewise into the flat plane of our Milky Way galaxy. That’s the part of the galaxy containing our sun, and most of the galaxy’s stars. Aaron Robinson captured this evocative view of the Milky Way on June 22, 2015 in the hours after midnight.
This view of just a small portion of our galaxy – just a few of its hundred billion stars – seems especially relevant in light of our story this week on what’s known as the Fermi paradox. That is, all scientific arguments suggest that alien civilizations should be common in the galaxy. So where is everybody?
Bottom line: Evocative view of the Milky Way taken June 22, 2015. The time for viewing the Milky Way in late evening and post-midnight is here!
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
Like what you read? Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.