Why don't we see lots of stars in the sky?

Question

Solar system is on the edge of Milky way which contains a large amount of stars, especially in the centre of the galaxy. But why when I look at the sky it's so empty? All I could see are just the Moon,Venus, Mars, and some small blinks.

ps -> I live in a capital city.

Answer 1

As you said we are inside the milky way galaxy so we see it edge on - it appears as a faint band of light across the sky. You can't make out individual stars because they are so distant that they blur together into a diffuse light source.
There are billions of other galaxies out there but with the exception of andromeda they are so dim (=distant) that you need a telescope to see them.
If you can only see the planets plus a few bright stars then you are living somwhere with streetlights. Head out into the countryside on a clear night, sit in the dark for 15 mins then look up and you will be amazed! The sky should be black with white dots, if it is grey or yellow then you have light pollution.

Answer 2

LIGHT POLLUTION. The artificial lights we humans produce here on Earth create a glow which in the city is as bright, or brighter than most stars as viewed from Earth. Just like the sound of a conversation between two people in a noisy room gets drowned out, the light from most stars gets drowned out by the artificial Earth based lights.

But that isn't the end of the story. You might have noticed that on some nights you can look up and see more stars than other nights, even if the city isn't really any less lit. This has to do a lot with the amount and size, and composition of the particles on the air. Sometimes the particles cause more light to scatter or reflect back than other times, changing the overall effect of the light pollution.

check out www.darkskies.org

Answer 3

If you look in the right direction (double check a star chart) you can see a big stripe across the sky that has lots of stars - I can't remember now if it's another arm, or if you're looking into the center of the Milky Way, but you can see a big area where the stars are more dense and once you spot it, it's really cool! It also helps to get as far away from city lights as possible too. :) Also make sure, obviously, that it's a clear night! :)

Answer 4

You are thinking too small. While it looks like the Milky Way has trillions of stars, it also has trillions of miles of empty space between them. That, and all stars have a "magnitude", or measure of brightness. Pluto sees another star, not the bright Sun that we see. It is all relative to perspective.

That, and light pollution has something to do with it. Get away from the city, where it is utterly dark for miles around you, and take a look. You will see many many more faint stars.

Good question, though!

Answer 5

I live in the centre of a big city (leeds), and next to a motorway (m1, m62) and i can most nights see plenty of stars. Maybe youre looking out at the wrong time. Or its just too cloudy. Light pollution is a problem. Try a weekend away at the coast, a quiet seaside town. You'll see more there. Look out around the 24th Oct, there's a meteor shower+ 17th Nov.
If you live in or around Hull, Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford or York look out on Oct 6th

Answer 6

For one thing are you in a city where there are alot of lights that could create a low ceiling ? because when you go out into the country where there are no lights from a city around for at least a couple miles, you should be able to see millions of stars providing it's a clear night.

Answer 7

Do you live in a built up area with lots of light pollution? If you do this will blot out lots of stars. Try and get out into the countryside, go camping and see the difference. A night sky viewed from a rural area with very little light pollution is just amazing.

Answer 8

residing in a city is why you are able to not see the sky. seem exterior at all of the lighting fixtures. Get out in the rustic on a hill. you will see the orange glow of cities from many miles away. This glow is combating you from seeing the sky. Do a Google seek on easy pollution.

Answer 9

The reason we don't see many stars in the galaxy is because of the light emited from artifictial light, instead of the light from streetlights pointing down, the light is scattered in all directions, thus blocking out the amount of stars we see in the galaxy when we look up at night.

Answer 10

In large cities it is harder to see the stars because all of the city lights reflecting off of the night sky. You have to go several miles away to get away from the city lights to see lots of stars. I grew up in the country in the middle of nowhere and you can see thousands, so many that they twinkle constantly. It is amazing.