At 07:42 AM 5/30/02, Alberto Monteiro wrote: >I just noticed the following versicle: > > "The procession marched, rolled, and slithered, wending > higher into the hills. Soon the heavens glittered with formations > of sparkling lights - brittle bright clusters and nebulae - divided > by the dark stripe of the Galactic disk. (...)" > >[Brightness Reef, XX, Book of the Slope, Lark, p.432 of my >paperback edition] > >Uh? _Dark_ stripe of the Galactic disk??? Formations of >clusters and nebulae??? What kind of galaxy is this? Is >there any neighbouring galaxy that fits this description?
Any spiral, including our own Milky Way, seen nearly edge on exhibits a prominent dark band across the middle due to extinction of starlight by the concentration of dust and gas near the galactic plane. (For more info and pretty pictures, see: <http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011021.html>, <http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990919.html>, <http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990617.html>, and <http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961101.html>) Go out tonight and look up at the Milky Way through Cygnus, and you will see that it seems to be divided into two parallel streams by the "Cygnus Rift", which is where the clouds block the light of stars behind them in our Galaxy. (See <http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960515.html>, <http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980523.html>, and <http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970315.html>) -- Ronn! :) Ronn Blankenship Instructor of Astronomy/Planetary Science University of Montevallo Montevallo, AL Disclaimer: Unless specifically stated otherwise, any opinions contained herein are the personal opinions of the author and do not represent the official position of the University of Montevallo.
