Where the Milky Way Begins… and Ends

About this episode

This episode explores the Milky Way galaxy, its structure, and related astronomical phenomena.

This week, we begin a new month-long journey into one of the most awe-inspiring subjects in astronomy: Galaxies. We start close to home by exploring our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and asking a deceptively simple question: where does a galaxy actually end? Along the way, we’ll explore spiral arms, dark matter, supermassive black holes, the hidden structure of our galactic halo, and the faint ghostly glow of Integrated Flux Nebula, dust clouds illuminated by the combined light of billions of stars. We’ll also discover why our solar system doesn’t align with the Milky Way the way you might expect, how astronomers mapped our galaxy from the inside using radio waves, and what the night sky might look like if the Milky Way simply vanished. Later in the episode: I report on a backyard observation of Amazon’s recent Leo satellite launch, plus, this week’s night sky highlights, the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, Jupiter and Saturn, and a trio of deep-sky galaxies perfect for spring observing. Connect with us on Bluesky @ startrails.bsky.social or YouTube @TheStarTrailsPodcast . If you’re enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee ! Also, check out…

People in this episode

Host: Single Malt Sky

Topics covered

• galaxies
• Milky Way
• dark matter
• supermassive black holes
• night sky
• meteor shower
• deep-sky observing

Keywords

• galaxies
• Milky Way
• dark matter
• supermassive black holes
• night sky highlights
• meteor shower
• deep-sky galaxies

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Amazon

Places: Milky Way, Eta Aquariid, Jupiter, Saturn, spring

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• From the Archive: Star Party Stories · May 31, 2026 · 18 min
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• The Hidden Universe: Cosmic Structures in the Dark · May 17, 2026 · 22 min
• When Galaxies Collide · May 10, 2026 · 29 min
• The Invisible Architecture of the Universe, with Dr. Enrique Lopez Rodriguez · April 26, 2026 · 38 min