Galaxies

The Milky Way from the Inside

From any one place, we can see only part of the sky. As the Earth rotates, other parts come into view.
From a single location, however, some part of the sky remains permanently obscured by the horizon.
It takes time and travel to build up a picture of the whole sky and the galaxy that surrounds us.

Index

1. Lund Map
2. Constellation Locator Chart
3. S. Hemisphere Milky Way Mud Map
4. Milky Way Year
5. Milky Way Whole Sky Mosaic
6. Milky Way Equator Mosaic

5. Axel Mellinger's Photomosaic of the Whole Sky



Higher resolution image

This photomosaic of the whole sky was created by Axel Mellinger. From different places around the world, over a three year period, he took 51 wide angle photographs. He mathematically stretched each image to fit it to an Aitoff projection of the sky, using software he wrote for the purpose and assembled the images to create this mosaic. Visit his site for more images and a discussion of the photo fitting technique.