“Last December I joined Sky & Telescope Senior Editor Kelly Beatty on a solar eclipse cruise to Antarctica. While the eclipse was clouded out, we scored four nights of mostly clear skies farther north in the Falkland Islands, which were also on the ship's itinerary. Because of nightlong twilights I saw only Sirius and Canopus from Antarctica, but Falkland skies delivered spectacular views of the southern Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. From my home in Minnesota, the southern horizon cuts off the Milky Way a short distance below Canis Major. ...”
In this model of the Milky Way, the Sun (yellow dot) lies halfway between the Galaxy's center and edge inside a minor spiral arm called the Orion Spur. During Northern Hemisphere winter, we look away from the center toward the Perseus and Outer Arms.
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