you'll peer at the Milky Way with an ordinary pair of binoculars. Binoculars cause the so-called haze to explode into view as myriad, distant stars.
• The chart at the top of this post shows a Northern Hemisphere view of the Milky Way.
• The chart shows the view if you are standing facing east on an August evening - but craning your neck to look overhead. I've marked some bright stars on this chart that you'll find along the path of the Milky Way if you're looking overhead. Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp, Deneb in the constellation Cygnus the Swan and Altair in the constellation Aquila the Eagle make up a large star pattern, or "asterism," known as the Summer Triangle. This entire region is a marvelous place to scan with binoculars.
• Summer Triangle: Vega, Deneb, Altair
• You can also see the Milky Way from the Southern Hemisphere, of course, and

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