Does “our” galaxy look like the one on the upper left when viewed from the right distance/angle?

Not sure but it woulddepend on how loosely you translate the word “like” perhaps. Our galaxy does have a bit of awarp and is a large-ish bnarred spiral galaxy if thathelps any. That galaxy seen edge on is probably more spiral and more warped although its a bit hard to tell from that perspective.

If so, why isn’t there tons more apparent light in our neighborhood?

Its a *very* big neighbourhood is why!

Also they may have more galaxies & more closely packed together in that galaxy cluster than in our Local Group of galaxies which has just three reasonably large spirals – Andromeda, the Milky Way and M33 the Triangulum or Pinwheel Galaxy.

I’m not 100% sure but I think that mostly explains it although your question also evokes Olber’s Paradox of “why is the sky dark” which you may benefit from researching if you haven’t already.

Try : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers%27_paradox

@ 3. Lisa Says:

you know, that “g” you speak of looks suspiciously like a cross.

Eh? It does?

Not to me it doesn’t.

@ 8. DrFlimmer Says:

@ #2 Matt : That’s a foreground star of the Milky Way. Nothing interesting Everything that has such streaks is a MW star.

Hey, just because its a foreground star doesn’t mean it can’t be an *interesting* foreground star you know!

Stellar astronomy can be pretty fascinating too, although perhaps not as visually dramatic as seen through a scope as the Deep Sky objects* eg. galaxies, star clusters, planetary nebulae, globular clusters, dark nebulae etc ..

A few questions that spring to my mind as possibly interesting about that star include :

1) What is called or designated?

2) What is its spectral and lunminosity (dwarf, giant, supergiant) class?

(I’d guess type A-K based on its not being very bluish or reddish. Right? )

3) Is it a binary or multiple star system?

4) Does it have any exoplanets known or suspected orbiting it?

5) How old is it and how metal rich? Is it one of the ancient metal-poor population I stars or a metal rich younger populatuion II star?

& that’s just for starters!

—–

* The Messier catalogue of deep sky objects does inculde one double star – M40.

I have several questions about view like this. Example: Does “our” galaxy look like the one on the upper left when viewed from the right distance/angle? If so, why isn’t there tons more apparent light in our neighborhood?

Thanks. I’m a complete noob, it’s all interesting to me

//chortle!

That’s a foreground star of the Milky Way. Nothing interesting Everything that has such streaks is a MW star.