It’s above us all the time. Our galaxy, which spans a mind-bending 100,000 to 180,000 light years in diameter. The Milky Way is a stunning band of stars, so massive and all-encompassing that it’s hard to even fathom. It also makes for a gorgeous photography, thanks to this collection of beautifully shot starscapes. The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, and is estimated to contain 100-400 billion stars, each with it’s own solar system.  Until the 1920s, scientists believed that all the stars in the universe were contained within the Milky Way. Now we know that there are hundreds of billions of galaxies. The scale may be hard to comprehend, but it’s comforting to know that we aren’t alone. It’s statistically, mathematically, and otherwise impossible that there’d be no other intelligent life in our galaxy, let alone the universe.  With that, let’s just sit back and admire the beauty of the heavens above.

landscape with mountains and milky way  at nightWatching The StarsRocks along Atlantic coastline, Northern Ireland, UKmale adventurer with strong headlamp beside illuminated red oranStand up Paddle Board under Milky WayGlowing tent and stars in High SierraPerson in tent illuminated at nightAstrophotography, Milky Way, ScotlandStars at night, Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland, UK


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Ben VanderVeen is the founder and editor of Moss & Fog, one of the web’s longest-running visual culture destinations. Since 2009, he’s been finding and framing the most beautiful, surprising, and thought-provoking work in art, architecture, design, and nature — reaching over 325,000 readers each month. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

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