Sharmila Kuthunur
Sharmila is a freelance science writer based in India. She has been a bibliophile for as long as she remembers and her love for reading introduced her to Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot. She has been hooked to astronomy ever since. In addition to writing for Space Tourism Guide, she also contributes feature articles to Astronomy Magazine, where her work allows her to bombard scientists with unlimited questions.
How to See the Milky Way in 5 Easy Steps
For the cool astronomers and the nerdy researchers, tossing out big numbers becomes a way of life. The nearest planet outside our solar system, Proxima Centauri-b, is 4.2 light years away. Andromeda, which is supposed to be the closest galaxy to Earth, is 2.5 million light years away. It is only when we look up into the depths of the night sky that the enormity of these mind-boggling numbers hits us. All we can see are tiny specks of light shimmering in the blanket of night. The light from them is too faint and our eyes too weak to distinguish stars from galaxies, and planets from rocks. The only galaxy…
